he Murcia regional president,
Pedro
Antonio
Sánchez of the Partido
Popular, is to be investigated
by the National Court as part
of Operation Punica that has
been running for the last few
years.
Some 22 new names are
being looked at, with Punica
being centred around town
halls in the Murcia, Madrid,
Leon, and Valencia regions.
Alleged collusion took place
between local councillors
and civil servants, with
builders and energy service
providers, and key companies. Contracts said to be
worth hundreds of millions of
euro have been secured
over the years.
National Court judge Eloy
Velasco says that he wants
more information over the
Murcia president’s dealings
back in 2014 with businessman Alejandro de Pedro,

T

when Antonio Sánchez was
the regional education secretary. De Pedro is seen as
one of the key figures in the
Punica investigation and the
Murcia president is being
investigated
by
judge
Velasco over allegations of
signing deals with the businessman in exchange for
favourable publicity boosting
his political reputation.
Earlier
this
month,
Murcia’s High Court opened
a file into corruption involving the building of an auditorium in the municipality of
Puerto Lumbreras during the
time that Antonio Sánchez
was the mayor. He is being
accused of the misuse of his
office and public funds, as
well as fraud concerning official papers. Like in the
Punica case, the local investigation has not yet led to
any formal charges, and
Antonio Sánchez strenously

BY ALEX TRELINSKI
denies the allegations.
Speaking on Monday
about the Punica case, the
Murcia President (pictured
at his briefing) told reporters
half a dozen times that no
contract of any kind was
agreed with de Pedro or with
his company. He stressed
that he had over a dozen
official documents that

would clear him with any
involvement in the Punica
affair, and that he is happy to
give a full explanation when
he is called to do so. He then
added on Tuesday that his
political opponents were
looking to make capital out
of the issue, but said he
would resign if he was formally charged with anything.

NEVER TOO OLD

wo 59-year old women
from Pilar de la Horadada
have been arrested by the
Guardia Civil on charges of
a dozen crimes involving
home robberies across the
area. They struck in daylight
because
they
thought
nobody would think them
capable of staging breakin’s, as they walked around
urbanisations looking for
any doors that might have
been left open.
Rojales, Pilar de la
Horadada, and the Orihuela
Costa were some of the
areas they operated in, and
they went as far north as
Altea. On two occasions
they were not afraid to use

violence against any homeowners they encountered,
leading to residents groups
exchanging information via
social networks in a bid to
warn people and also to try
to catch them.
The duo would steal small
items like jewellery and
mobile phones, with the
Guardia releasing a CCTV
image showing how they
operated, with one of the
women acting as a look-out,
whilst the other would get
into the property.
Their
nationality
or
whether they have an existing criminal record has not
been made public by the
Guardia.

Considerable cloudiness. Occasional
rain showers in the afternoon. Thunder
possible. High 16ºC. Winds WSW at 15
to 25 km/h. Chance of rain: 40%
Some clouds early will give way to generally
clear conditions overnight. Low 9ºC. Winds W at
15 to 30 km/h. Winds could occasionally gust
over 65 km/h.

A 67-year-old British hiker
was winched off to safety by
a helicopter (pictured) after
suffering a 40 metre fall at a
northern Costa Blanca
beauty spot. The unnamed
man was close to the top of
the Rock of Ifach in Calpe
last Friday morning when he
slipped and suffered multiple
injuries. A fire rescue helicopter was scrambled from
San Vincente del Raspeig in
the Alicante area, and took
him down to Calpe prome-

nade, where an ambulance
was waiting to take him to
Alicante General Hospital.
The previous day, the
same helicopter came to the
aid of a British climber who
found himself lost in the
Sierra de Orihuela at
Reguero Bonanza. The 32year-old man phoned emergency services just after
2.00 pm, and within 15 minutes he had been located,
with the rescue taking place
within an hour.

Editor-In-Chief
Barry Newlove

Editor
Alex Trelinski

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Myra

A report for Orihuela
council that shows satisfaction levels at 80 percent for
local beaches has been
queried by the Federación
de
Asociaciones
de
Orihuela Costa (FAOC),
who say that the overall figure masks concerns that
were raised by people that
were questioned.
Recently
appointed
beaches and coastal councillor Luisa Boné (pictured
left), along with tourism
councillor Sofía Álvarez,
said that approval ratings
by beach users had gone
up six percent in 2016 compared to a year earlier. The

most valued spots by residents and tourists were
Punta Prima, Cala Mosca
and Cala Estaca.
The councillors stressed
that it was an independent
company that compiled the
survey and that the results
would be used for the "Q"
Quality awards that are
handed to municipalities
across Spain. FAOC claim
that the figures, which produce an overall rating, take
in many factors like sunshine, the temperature, as
well as water and sand
quality. FAOC say that the
survey makes it clear that
in the sample of 1,500 peo-

Park’s First
Steps

ple questioned, only 20
percent were totally happy
with the state of the beaches, citing issues like algae,
the short length of walkways, and access issues.
Boné said that the comments from the people surveyed would be taken on
board, and that would
include better access to
Cala Mosca; more sand to
be brought onto Punta
Prima beach; and an
increase in the number of
footbaths. "We will continue working to maintain the
satisfaction levels, and produce even better figures
next year", Boné added.

On
Parade

Torrevieja & North
Tel. 618 583 765

Jean
Orihuela Costa
Tel. 618 898 034

Julie
English and Spanish
Tel. 616 332 178

Advertising
Monday 12:00

San Javier mayor, José
Miguel Luengo (pictured
right), has pledged the council’s support to the union representing workers at San
Javier airport, who are worried about the loss of jobs or
enforced relocation when
the facility is eventually
closed and moved to
Corvera.
The mayor met with local
union leader Cayetano

Editorial
Tuesday 12:00

THE WEATHER FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Patrick
English, Spanish,
German, Dutch and
French.
Tel. 685 901 265

DEADLINES

Conesa, who represents the
interests of 72 workers at
the airport, and made it clear
that his members were very
uneasy about all the uncertainty.
A demonstration was then
held outside the terminal
building, with no fresh developments over the retendering of the management contract for the facility at
Corvera.

After 30 years of campaigning, the first formal
move to make the Sierra
Escalona a protected natural
park has been put into
motion, according to Julia
Alvaro of Valencia's environment department.
Speaking to municipal

representatives and environmentalists from the local
authority areas that the
Sierra Escalona covers
(Orihuela, San Miguel, and
Pilar), Alvaro stated that it
would take at least two
years for the process to be
completed.

The first of the two
Torrevieja Carnival parades
will be staged this Sunday
afternoon (February 19th),
starting at 4.00 pm from the
Plaza de María Asunción.
The procession will wind
through Calle Ramón Gallud
and Calle Patricio Pérez. 37
floats with 1,500 participants
were involved in last year’s
Sunday parade.
The night parade is a more
informal affair and will be
held on Saturday February
25th, also beginning at the
same start point at 10.00 pm.

News
Thursday 12:00
Stop Press
Thursday 18:00
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News

3

Friday 17th February 2017

Caterpillar Hassles

Recent strong winds and
rising temperatures have
seen processionary caterpillars, who nest in pine
trees, causing problems in
the Elche area, especially
to children. The spit from
the caterpillars can cause
very unpleasant skin irritations with stinging, itching
and redness which need to
be treated. Touching pine
cones and tree trunks or
anything that the caterpillars have come in contact
with, can lead to problems.

Around 30 people, mostly young children, have
been treated at Elche
health centres, with four
youngsters coming into the
Santa Pola health centre,
and a further four at El
Altet, plus 20 pupils aged
between three and four
years at the Menendez
Pelayo de Elche school
needed treatment, with the
caterpillars offering the
biggest nuisance in areas
close to schools, as well as
parks close to pine tree

areas.
A total of 32 schools in
the Elche area have now
called for fumigation to
take place to eradicate the
caterpillars.
However, environmentalists point out that caterpillars become butterflies
and butterflies are the second most important insect
in the pollination process,
second only to bees, and
so attempts to destroy
them could lead to an environmental disaster.

Name That Driver!

Opposition socialist councillors on Orihuela council
have given the mayor, Emilio
Bascuñana an ultimatum to
reveal who was behind the
wheel of the official mayor's
car, which received at least
four tickets for speeding violations.
Councillor Victor Ruiz
says that the PSOE will push
for an official inquiry if they
don't get answers before the
end of the month, after a
series of speed tickets were
issued, including one in the
Madrid area. Ruiz accepts
that Bascuñana was not
behind the wheel, but wants

to find out who the offender
was, as well as getting an
assurance that the accumulated 500 euro fines will not
come out of municipal funds.
Ruiz added that he had
written a letter asking for
details last November and
had not yet got a reply, and
that the element of withholding information and a "lack
of interest" to his query was
behind the latest move.
Bascuñana has previously
said that the mayor's car is
available to councillors and
officials, as well as to advisers to the Orihuela government team.

Below Average

Cheaper Tests

The cost of having your
car go through an ITV test in
the Murcia region is set to
be slashed by 37 percent,
with a 43 percent diesel
vehicle reduction, under
regional government plans
to advertise a new 15 year
contract for ITV centres.
The administration claims

that it will make the test
rates some of the lowest in
Spain.
Part of the tender package also includes the creation of 11 new ITV centres
with an extra centre proposed for the Cartagena
area as well as one for
Santomera, close to the

border
with
Alicante
Province.
Current ITV rates in
Murcia are still substantially
cheaper than for the neighbouring Valencia region,
with a fair amount of "border-hopping" taking place to
centres like San Pedro del
Pinatar (pictured).

Waiting times for operations at Torrevieja hospital
and at the Vinalopó hospital
in Elche are 77 days less
than the rest of the public
hospitals in the Valencia
region, according to official
figures.
The data up until the end
of December shows that
waiting lists average 115
days across all of the
region’s hospitals, but the
waits at Torrevieja and

Vinalopó come in at just 38
days.
Specialist areas like cardiac and thoracic surgery
come in at less than 30 days
whilst for vascular operations, the waiting time at the
two hospitals was five
months less than in other
facilities across the Valencia
region. General surgery
times came in at three
months better than the
regional average.

Sniffed
Out

A canine member of the
Alicante dog unit has sniffed
out 12 kilos of marijuana in a
routine check on a coach
that stopped for a break at
Alicante bus station.
The dog went into action
in the luggage hold of a
coach travelling north from
Algeciras to Barcelona,
where it got very interested
in a suitcase that was
crammed with marijuana all
package up in plastic bags.
A 56-year-old Spaniard
found that his journey had an
unscheduled end, as he was
taken off to the police station
and charged with drugs
offences. He is the fourth
drugs carrier arrested this
year in Alicante thanks to the
work of the dog unit.

Smart
Move

Electricity
company
Iberdrola says that one point
one million smart meters had
been installed in homes
across Alicante Province by
the beginning of the month.
84 percent of domestic and
low user customers had
already got the new meters
according to Iberdrola, with
the equipment allowing consumers to analyse their
usage of electricity, which
helps them decide what tariff
is best for them.

4

City Link

Friday 17th February 2017

Banged To Rights

Electromar Blow

Budget air carrier Ryanair
has launched a twice-weekly
link between Aberdeen and
Alicante-Elche airports. The
all-year services will run on a
Saturday and Thursday, with
the Boeing 737-800 plane
able to carry some 189
passengers.

Moving
Forward

The former Torrevieja
tourist office at Alto de la
Casilla, which looks down
upon La Mata, should open
before the summer as a new
base for the city’s local police
rapid response unit (GRO).
Mayor José Manuel Dolón
says that the transfer should
happen within two months.
The GRO had to leave the
ex-tourist office in the Plaza
de Capdepont 16 months
ago when part of the roof
caved in, and have since
been based temporarily in La
Siesta.
The council announced the
move to Alto de la Casilla
back in June, but there has
been a row over the way the
building had been previously
used, with accusations that it
been turned into a tourist
office in 2007 without the
appropriate documentation.

Switched
On

Some 130 street lights
around Rafal have been
switched to low cost energy
saving versions at a cost of
120 thousand euro. The work
has been paid for by the
Alicante Provincial Council,
with changes around the
town taking in the Plaza de
España.

Several
ex-Partido
Popular officials from the
Valencia region, including
ex-regional tourist minister,
Milagrosa Martínez (pictured
in court), plus businessmen
involved in a big corruption
scandal, were given jail
sentences of up to 13 years
by the Valencia High Court
last Friday.
The scandal revolves
around Francisco Correa, a
businessman accused of
showering
PP
representatives and civil
servants in several places
around Spain with bribes in
exchange
for
public
contracts for his companies
or those of his friends. The
corruption network in the socalled Gürtel scandal is
suspected
of
having
embezzled tens of millions of
euros in public funds
between 1999 and 2005.
The Valencian regional
tourist minister, Milagrosa
Martínez, was jailed for nine

years for her role in the
Gürtel scam, with Correa
getting 13 years. Correa's
right-hand
men
Pablo
Crespo and Álvaro Pérez,
known as 'El Bigotes', were
sentenced to 13 and 12
years respectively.
The case in Valencia
involved alleged bribes in
exchange for lucrative public
works contracts, inflating
estimates and final costs to
obtain more public funds
than needed and split the
difference, often invoicing
twice or for non-existent
costs. They included the
contract
for
Valencia's
regional stand at the
international FITUR tourism
fair in Madrid between 2005
and 2009.
It is only one section of the
wider scandal surrounding
Correa, who is also on trial in
Madrid along with 36 other
defendants in a similar case
that also involves two former
PP national treasurers.

Chiefs Charged
The former head of
Spain's central bank was
charged on Monday for
allegedly allowing the troubled Bankia bank to list on
the stock exchange in 2011
"despite repeated warnings... that the group was
unviable."
Miguel Angel Fernandez
Ordonez, in charge of the
central bank from 2006 to
2012, was charged over the
failed listing, which saw
small investors lose millions
of euro in investment, as
was the former president of
Spain's CNMV market regulator Julio Segura, a
National
Court
order
revealed.

Bankia was bailed out in
May 2012 less than a year
after its listing, and is
accused of misrepresenting
its accounts ahead of the
flotation. Rodrigo Rato, a
former economy minister
and ex-IMF chief who headed up Bankia at the time of
its listing, has also been
charged over the scandal.

One of Torrevieja’s
biggest public events,
which attracts visitors from
the whole of Spain, has
had the plug pulled on it by
the mayor, José Manuel
Dolón. The Electromar
Music Festival, which
attracts around ten thousand people every July to
Torrevieja’s Antonio Soria
park, was scrapped as
long ago as October, but
the story has only just surfaced.
The Informacion newspaper has reported that
the decision was taken five
months back, after a local
resident complained to the
Ombudsman about the
noise, and in response
Dolón said that he decided
to scrap the event, though

the details have only just
been made public.
Electromar has been
staged for the last nine
years, but the 2016 festival
very nearly didn’t happen
after a row between the
organisers and the coalition-led Torrevieja council,
with the Electromar team
accusing the authority of
“not showing any interest”.
Everything though seemed
to end amiably with the
organisers signing a four
year deal for it to continue.
Last week the council
said that they were not
allowing the event to go
ahead because of noise
complaints from residents;
safety issues; and the
amount of rubbish left in
the area. They added that

they were more open to
the festival being held at
another time of year, as
opposed to July when the
area is already packed
with tourists.
Opposition
Partido
Popular councillor Miguel
Cano attacked the mayor’s
decision saying that he did
not understand why he
had taken it on the basis of
one complaint to the
Ombudsman, and why he
had “kept his actions
secret”. Cano went further
saying that Dolón “wants
to finish everything that is
of benefit to Torrevieja and
the community, including
an important festival that is
regarded highly within the
Valencian region and
across Spain”.

Lorente Quiz

Ex-Orihuela
Partido
Popular mayor Monica
Lorente and seven other
people, including the former
sports and tax councillor,
Antonio Lidón, have been
questioned over grants paid
out to Orihuela football club
in 2007 and 2008.
The sums from Orihuela
council amounted to 900
thousand euro, with the
National Police investigating
a complaint over irregularites made by the former
PSOE socialist sports councillor, Luis Galiano when he
was in post during the previous council administration
that took over from Lorente’s
Partido Popular in 2011.
In a different matter, the
anti-corruption prosecutor is
calling for Lorente and

another ex-Orihuela mayor,
José Manuel Medina,s to be
jailed for municipal fraud
amounting to over six million
euro. This is connected to a

pending case of the problematic award of waste disposal contracts in a case
that is likely to come to court
next year.

News

Friday 17th February 2017

Second Helpings
A six-strong gang of
house robbers that operated across urbanisations in
Torrevieja have been
arrested by the Guardia
Civil. One of the gang
members had only been
released from prison back
in October, after serving
out his sentence for robbery, with the group having
been previously detained
months earlier on burglary
charges.
Five of the crooks, were
male and of Spanish
nationality, aged between
24 and 34, along with a 23year old woman. They targetted the La Siesta, El
Chaparral, San Luis, El
Limonar
and
Paraje
Natural areas, with the
Guardia getting reports at
the end of November of a
systematic series of burglaries. The gang, who all
live in Torrevieja, have
been charged with 10 robberies as well as assault

On The Rise

The number of people
using public transport in
Spain went up by two point
four percent in 2016, the
second consecutive increase
since the one percent rise in
2015, and the biggest
increase since 2005.
The figures produced by
the
National
Statistics
Institute showed the number
of passengers reached 4.631
billion, compared with 4.516
billion in 2015.

Gang
Busted
The National Police have
smashed a drug smuggling
ring that has been running
for around 15 years. 200 officers were involved in 18
searches in the provinces
Cadiz and Malaga and made
21 arrests of people who
face crimes against public
health, money laundering,
illegal possession of firearms
and illicit association. The
investigation into a "group of
Bulgarians, Croatians and
Spaniards, based in Malaga
and Cadiz" who had a "solid
structure" began in 2015,
according to the interior ministry. The first phase of the
operation led to the detention of a truck with Estonian
registration which had a
false bottom containing 130
thousand euro, while the
stopping of a second tuck in
southern France led to the
discovery of 111 kilos of
hashish and a third, close to
Malaga, saw 103 kilos of
hashish recovered.

and drug trafficking. The
Guardia say they broke
into as many as five
homes in one evening. In
one case, they smashed a
window to gain access and
were surprised to see the
residents inside, who they
then proceeded to attack.
In another instance, a witness to one of their crimes
was violently assaulted, as
they fled from a home with
the stolen goods.
A
search
of
two

Torrevieja addresses yielded a host of stolen items
reported by victims of the
gang, including three
large-screen televisions, a
laptop computer, and various other electrical items.
The Guardia discovered
various implements that
were used to force into
people's homes, as well as
a quantity of drugs and a
measuring scale that was
hidden amongst some
toys.

No Contest
Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy has been re-elected
as the leader of the rightwing Partido Popular for a
fourth term. The 61-year-old
ran unopposed and won last
Saturday night with 95 percent of the vote at the party
congress in Madrid.
Rajoy thanked party members, saying "it's an honour
because I have spent all my
life in this party."
He has kept most of the
party's leadership, including
Maria Dolores de Cospedal,
the minister of defence, as
the party's second-in-command. Rajoy has been prime
minister since 2011, when
he took power during a
severe economic recession,
and is credited in some
quarters with helping Spain

avoid
an
international
bailout.
Rajoy has led a minority
government since October
when other parties, notably
the centrist Ciudadanos
backed him, whilst most of
the
socialist
PSOE
abstained in order to prevent
a third general election within a year.

The Real Reason

Failure of some of the
building work to meet minimum siesmic standards has
led to a delay in redeveloping the Playas de Orihuela
school at La Florida. Nothing
has happened on the site
this year, and Orihuela council had been told that the
“builder might have to make
changes to the project”.
The parents association

AMPAS at the school were
told by regional education
chiefs that part of the front
façade construction doesn’t
come up to scratch under
2002 regulations in regards
to earth termors, and that
extra money will have to be
spent . What kind of a delay
to the project and how much
will have to budgeted for has
not been declared.

5

6

Friday 17th February 2017

7

Friday 17th February 2017

Pabloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Big Win

Supporters of the left-wing
Podemos party that is barely
three years old, gave Pablo
Iglesias a massive victory on
Sunday at the end of a
vicious power struggle, reelecting him as party leader
and backing his tactics to
fight on as an anti-establishment grouping.
More than 155 thousand
voted to re-elect the 38year-old as the leader, along
with supporting a large bulk
of his preferred candidates
for the party's governing
council. Over 89 percent of
party members backed
Iglesias as secretary general,
while
56
percent
endorsed his vision for
Podemos, in results that met
with wild applause from
thousands of Podemos fol-

lowers gathered in a conference centre in Madrid, who
shouted "yes we can" and
"unity".
Iglesias had been challanged by his deputy and
once close friend Inigo
Errejon, creating a rift in the
entire party over how to
achieve its goal of replacing
the PSOE socialists as the
main opposition party, and
eventually to take power.
Errejon had argued that the
Podemos should work more
to attract moderate voters
who might have been put off
with the party's image, whilst
Iglesias has continued to
argue a more anti-establishment line and arguing for
more mass demonstrations
across the country should
the need arise.

Pirates Grounded

The National Police have
released details about a raid
on an internet service
provider based on the Costa
del Sol which is suspected of
hosting an illegal TV
streaming business.
Y
Internet
allegedly
provided unauthorised online
subscription services for payTV
channels.
The
investigation was initiated by
the English Premier League
as part of a crackdown on
illegal redistribution of its live
football broadcasts.
According to police, the
ISP, which was based in
Malaga,
allegedly
sold
subscriptions to pubs, hotels
and individuals on the Costa

del Sol. No-one was arrested
in the raid, which happened
in September, but equipment
was
seized
and
the
investigation
remains
ongoing, according to the
police.
Two individuals believed to
have run the ISP from the
UK had been charged with
"intellectual property-related
offences", but their names
have not been released.
Premier League director of
legal services Kevin Plumb
said: "The raids conducted
by the Spanish authorities
are a positive example of law
enforcement taking piracy
and
IP
infringement
seriously.â&#x20AC;?

Dodgy Dealers

The National Police have
arrested three people after
raiding
a
'sweatshop'
manufacturing counterfeit
Ferraris and Lamborghinis
using second hand Toyotas.
Police became aware of the
gang after one of the cars
was offered for sale in
Benidorm, through a number
of websites for around 40
thousand euro.
The garage in the northern
part of the country in Girona,
used donor Toyotas and
bolted
a
Ferrari
or
Lamborghini body kit to the
car before selling them to
unsuspecting owners on the

internet. The gang were
using either the Toyota MR2,
Ford Cougar or Peugeot 406
to create their cars.
The raid found counterfeit
Ferrari F355s as well as
F430s powered by 2 litre and
2.5 litre engines. Other cars
on a production line of 14
vehicles included the Ferrari
360 and Ferarri 348. The
bodies were moulded using
fibreglass and all the faces
on the clocks and dials were
printed out and stuck over
the existing units. The gang
also stuck fake Ferrari and
Lamborghini signs on each
of the cars.

8

Friday 17th February 2017

Cofradia Calling

The Semana Santa processions over
Easter are one of the great Spanish traditions, and there’s an opportunity to join the
International Cofradia in the annual Paso of
Jesus in the Garden of Olives in Torrevieja
this April.
To carry the Paso, the Cofradia needs
around 100 men, with approximately 20 new
members needed each year to replace
those who, for one reason or another, are
unable to take part.
It’s a great chance to take part in one of
the most important events in the local
Spanish calendar and a unique experience
which will be remembered for ever. You do
not have to be super-fit to take part, as most
of the Cofradia members are retired and certainly not in the ‘first flush of youth’.
More new members are urgently needed

this year due to losing quite a few of the
existing team. If they are unable to assemble
around 100 people, they will be forced to
push the Paso during the processions rather
than carrying it on their shoulders, which
would be a major disappointment.
If you are interested in taking part please
contact David McLachan, on 865 661 937,
who can give you a further details and you
come along to the first International Cofradia
meeting on Thursday March 2nd at the
Semana Santa Museum on the outskirts of
Torrevieja starting at 7:30 pm.
Subscriptions for membership have been
kept at 35 euro. If you are an existing member and are not taking part this year, an
appeal is made to bring your uniform along
to the first meeting or to contact Paul Mutter
on 671 218 285.

Volunteer Appeal
The MABS Murcia Mar Menor Cancer Support group is
on the look out for volunteers throughout the area. The
charity provides practical help and support to people of
all nationalities who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Just a few hours a week could make all the difference
and they are after drivers; carers; fundraisiers; admin
staff; shop workers; or whatever skills you have!
For more details, get in touch via their e-mail address,
mabsmurciadirector@hotmail.com.

Keeping A Watch
The local Rojales Neighbourhood Watch group will
be holding their Annual General Meeting early next
month, which will be open to everybody living in
the 03170 postal area. The gathering will take
place on Monday March 6th at 11.00 am at the
Quesada Municipal Centre.
Membership is free and the aim of the group it
to try to promote good safety and security around
local homes and the neighbourhood, as well as
passing on useful tips on staying safe and making
sure that you are not burgled.
For more details, call Helen Tudor on 663 316 310 or go to
the group’s website, www.nhwinspain.com

Vivace Celebrates

A power cut led to the candles being
brought out for a special 10th anniversary
meal for the Vivace Classical Choir recently.
The San Miguel de Salinas-based group
were dining at the town’s El Prado restaurant
when the lights went out, but it was all treated in good humour, with the supply restored
just as the food was about to be served.
After a decade in charge, Vivace’s Musical
Director Tom Pargeter is handing over the
baton to some new blood, and he can reflect
that Vivace has 60 members, after they

begun with just 16 singers in October 2006.
The choir is now preparing for their forthcoming Celebration Concert, which will be
an evening featuring some of the choir’s
favourite pieces sung by them over the
years. Two concerts will be staged; the first
at La Siesta Church in Torrevieja on Friday
March 31st at 7.30 pm, and the second in
the Casa de Cultura in San Miguel the following evening at 8.00 pm.
Ticket availability and price information will
be released soon.

Ladybirds Give
The
Alzheimer’s
Association of Torrevieja,
also known as AFA, recently
picked up a generous donation from the fund-raising
Ladybird ladies charity group
at a meeting in San Miguel
de Salinas. The Ladybirds
hold a regular lunch to raise
money for local causes, and
used their last gathering at El
Prado in San Miguel to hand
over a cheque to AFA.

Walking Time

A two and half kilometre
fun walk in aid of the Paul
Cunningham Nurses charity
is taking place next month in
the Guardamar area.
The fun charity walk will
start at the El Raso urbanisation at 10.00 am, and will
take in a gentle two and half
kilometre route, with a seek
and find game along the way,
plus a raffle and tombola as
well!
Entry will be five euro, and
you want to take part, please
call 966 719 115.

Friday 17th February 2017

9

10

Friday 17th February 2017

Call 966 843 498
To Reserve Yours

11

Friday 17th February 2017

Premium Bonds or Premium Rip Off?
Keith Littlewood, International Financial Adviser
at Blacktower, Costa Cálida
the following before investing:
Premium bonds are NOT for savers who:
•
want a regular income
•
are looking for guaranteed returns
•
are concerned about inflation eroding their
savings
•
want to buy them as a gift, unless for their child
or (great) grandchild
If you want to gamble or speculate with a small amount
£100 - £500, then I would say go for it. But if you are a
serious investor and have somewhere near the now
maximum allowed £50,000, I would strongly suggest
shopping around to see what returns you can get for your
money.
If you are resident in Spain, there are Spanish compliant
bonds that can give you a much better average return than
premium bonds are offering. Please do not let your money
continue to erode in real terms. Be wise, it might be time
to give Ernie the boot.
In today’s financial climate it is essential you do
everything you can to make sure your money is safe and
secure and what you want to transpire in the future has the
best chance of happening. If you need advice or have any
questions regarding the above you can contact me, Keith
Littlewood DipPFS, on 657 684 094 or email
keith.littlewood@blacktowerfm.com
Once again, the NS&I (National Savings and
Investments) are about to cut the returns they give to
premium bond holders. The returns they give are already
poor and to reduce them further is a travesty considering
the many loyal supporters premium bonds have.
The average return for premium bond holders is
currently 1.25% and is about to be cut to 1.15% from May
2017. This might sound OK in the current economic climate
of low interest rates, but when you consider there are two
prizes of £1 million paid out each month that are included

in these averages, you can understand why getting returns
are becoming less and less frequent for the small £100
holders. The NS&I even admit that there is now only a
30,000-1 chance of getting a return for every £1 ticket (that
is like Leicester City winning the premiership six times). Or
in other words, if you hold £30,000, you have a 50/50
chance of getting a return each month – and that will
probably be only £25.
Recent disclosure and regulatory rules now mean that
the website and literature the NS&I produce must tell you

The above information was correct at the time of
preparation and does not constitute investment advice and
you should seek advice from a professional adviser before
embarking on any financial planning activity.
Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is
licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services
Commission (FSC) and is registered with both the DGS
and CNMV in Spain.

12

Pets

Friday 17th February 2017

Adoption Corner

Getting The Jab

ANGEL
Angel is a six-year-old Siamese cat that has been sterilised,
and is looking for a special forever home. Angel is very loving but she does wants a one-on- one home with no other
cats or dogs. She would like her very own person and to be
able to sleep on their bed every night. To learn more and to
meet Angel, then get in touch with Pets in Spain on 645 469
253. www.petsinspain.com

LOUIE
Louie is a mastiff that’s a real loveable gentle giant,
who likes a good belly rub! He is good with people,
and was found wandering the streets. He appears to
have been well looked after, but with no microchip on
him, which means his owners cannot be traced. He is
well house trained, is very good on a lead and when
left to roam freely within boundaries. For more on
Louie, please call K9 on 600 845 420.

Make sure you protect your dogs and keep them safe by
keeping up to date with their vaccinations. A repeat injection
is needed annually, as long as your dog has had his initial
course (two vaccinations two to four weeks apart).
As long as the annual vaccinations are carried out within a
few weeks of their due date then most dogs will be fine. If too
much time has elapsed between the annual vaccinations
your vet may discuss restarting the vaccination course. The
safest thing is to make a note for when your vaccination is
next due and make sure you get them booked in as close to
this time as possible.
Urgent treatment will be needed if your dog has not had his
vaccinations and picks up a serious illnesses, so do contact
your vet as soon as possible!
STOPPING DISEASE

NOODLES
Noodles is aged 11, and is a great little character that
weighs 11 kilos. She walks well on the lead and loves
to play with her toys, and is fully vaccinated, microchipped and sterilised. She has some health issues
which the SAT kennels will brief you on, but they
don’t want her to spend the rest of her life in kennels,
when she would make a great family companion.
Please call the kennels on 966 710 047 or email
info@satanimalrescue.com

ODIN

Odin is a beautiful male two year-old dog that was
found roaming around a village. He’s good with other
dogs, and loves people and is very well behaved. He
is being fostered with some other dogs and gets on
well with all of them, but is not a fan of cats! Odin loves
getting attention and is very affectionate, and is in a
nice healthy condition. For more about him, please
call PEPA on 650 304 746 or send an email:
p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail.com

The diseases dogs are vaccinated against are now relatively
uncommon. But this is mainly due to the widespread vaccination regime in operation. In areas where dogs are not routinely vaccinated, these diseases are common and often
fatal.
Vaccination has saved countless dogs from the ravages of
parvovirus and distemper... not to mention potential cases of
rabies. Vaccinations should normally deal with parvovirus,
distemper virus, leptospirosis, and infectious hepatitis.
Pet owners say there is nothing worse than going through
the trauma of losing a pet to an illness that could have been
avoided through a simple vaccination. Clearly prevention is
always better than cure.

weeks so they need regular vaccinations from an early age.
Puppies are typically vaccinated at eight weeks, with an initial course of two injections. Your young pet should then be
given a booster 12 months after their first vaccination.
VACCINATION CHANGES
Your dog is not necessarily vaccinated for the same diseases every year. Depending on the data from the vaccine
manufacturer, most animals will receive a full booster every
2nd or 3rd year — but in the interim years will receive a partial booster containing only the vaccines that require annual
top ups
Viruses change over time, and by regularly vaccinating your
pet they will be covered for the new emerging strains that
may not have been around a few years ago
Vaccines are rigorously tested and checked to minimise the
risk of them doing ‘harm’ to your pet and so are some of the
safest medicines routinely used.
JAB AFTER EFFECTS

WHEN TO VACCINATE

While modern-day vaccines are incredibly safe and reliable,
they can occasionally make your pet feel poorly for 24 hours
or so (a bit like the human flu vaccine).
Some dogs will get small, painful ‘nodules’ where they have
been vaccinated. However, these should resolve over a few
days.
Very occasionally pets can also suffer hypersensitivity (similar to a human anaphylactic reaction) and as this can be serious it needs to be treated urgently.

When puppies are born they are usually protected from
infections by their mother’s milk, providing she has been regularly vaccinated. However, this protection only lasts a few

If you’re concerned about your dog, talk to your vet. There
are many different forms of vaccine and your vet will be able
to advise you about any side effects there may be.

OLIVER
Oliver is a large, but very quiet and gentle dog. He was
found with his sister and brothers in a shoe box, by the
side of a bin when they were only 10 days old. Oliver is
microchipped, vaccinated and has a passport. He
never barks and gets on well with all the other dogs,
especially any new puppies that are rescued. To
arrange to meet Oliver, please call APAH on 630 422
563 or 616 210 850.

SOCKS
Socks is an adorable three- month-old puppy who was
rescued from the perrera along with her siblings. She is
a lovely dog who is currently weighing in at around four
kilos, and she will stay small reaching a weight of no
more than eight kilos. She is really lovely, very affectionate and great with the other dogs and cats that she is
fostered with. If you think you could offer Socks a home,
please call PEPA on 650 304 746 or send an email to
p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail.com

News

Friday 17th February 2017

Family Suspect

Call 966 843 498
To Reserve Yours
Miguel Ángel López, one
of the sons-in-law of the
CAM
bank
chairman's
widow was arrested last
week in connection with her
killing in Alicante City last
December. Married to the
deceased's
youngest
daughter, Ángel López holds
a gun licence and practises
target-shooting as a sport.

María
del
Carmen
Martínez, 72, was shot at
close range on the forecourt
of Novocar, the motor dealership in Alicante owned by
the family empire. She had
gone to pick up her Porsche
Cayenne after a service, and
was due to meet her notary
later for issues in connection
with the network of compa-

nies she owned after the
death of her husband,
Vicente Sala, who used to
be head of the now-defunct
Caja de Ahorros del
Mediterráneo (CAM).
The Sala-Martínez firms
were to have been passed
to her son upon her death,
which her daughters were
apparently not happy about.

Kiev Stinker?

Spain’s 2017 Eurovision
Song Contest entry will be
sung by 21-year-old Manel
Navarro, after the professional jury had to decide on
the winner, following a “tied”
public vote on the televised
selection process.
The events were played
out live on La 1 on Saturday,
with
many
Spanish

Eurovision fans taking to
social media to say that
Navarro’s entry in English,
Do It For Your Lover, was
certain to finish bottom in
Kiev in May, and that it was
one of the worst Spanish
entries ever.
Navarro’s
entry
was
picked over a song called
Contigo (With You) sung by

Mirela, which the studio
audience, judging by their
loud booing and jeering,
thought should have been
the winner, with accusations
that the competition had
been rigged.
Navarro said that he was
“very happy' to be representing his country with all the
pride in the world”.

13

14

Friday 17th February 2017

Friday 17th February 2017

15

16

Friday 17th February 2017

Homes & Gardens

Give Old Maps New Life as Tile Coasters
The next time you return from a fun adventure, commemorate your travels and create unique coasters using
maps of the destination. And it's a great way to give new
life to an old atlas. Pick your favorite locations or closeup street maps for a unique look. Use sturdy tiles from
your local home goods store. This DIY costs around 1â&#x201A;Ź
per tile to make.
What You'll Need:
4 4-inch square tumbled marble tiles
Old atlas or maps
Pencil
Scissors
Paint brush
Mod Podge
Clear sealant spray paint
Felt (optional)
Directions:
Select a map to use for creating the coaster, place a tile
over the area, and use a pencil to trace around it. Repeat
three times using the same map, or use a different location.
Cut the squares and trim to fit the square tiles as needed.
Coat the top side of the tumbled marble with Mod Podge,
and then press the section of map over the top, smoothing gently. Do the same with the remaining three tiles.
Coat the tops of the coasters with a layer of Mod Podge,
and set aside to dry for at least one hour. Take outdoors
or to a well-ventilated spot and coat with clear sealant
spray paint.
Once dry, your travel coasters are ready to keep water
rings off your favorite furniture. You can even make them
scratch-safe by gluing a small square of felt to each bottom corner. Cheers!

heavy based casserole
over a medium heat. When
the butter is foaming, add
the onions, leeks and
apples and fry for 10-15
minutes, stirring regularly,
until they have softened.
Add the potatoes and
cider, and bring the mixture
to the boil.
Continue to cook for 2-3
minutes, until the volume
of liquid has reduced
slightly.
Add the stock, bay leaves
and thyme and season, to
taste, with salt and freshly
ground black pepper.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the casserole
with a lid and cook for 2530 minutes, or until all of
the vegetables are cooked
through. Remove the
thyme and bay leaf with a
slotted spoon and discard.
Blend half of the soup in a
food
processor
until
smooth.
Return the blended soup to
the chunky soup mixture

and stir well over a gentle
heat until heated through.
If you want a slightly thinner soup, add a bit more

hot vegetable stock until
the soup has the desired
consistency.
To serve, divide the soup

between six bowls and
sprinkle a handful of the
Gruyere cheese and a
pinch of chives into each.

Season, to taste, with salt
and ground white pepper.
Garnish each bowl with a
pinch of grated nutmeg.

Cut the lard and butter into
sugarcube sized chunks,
add to the flour, and rub the
fat into the flour until it forms
fine crumbs. Add enough
cold water to form a soft
dough. Set aside in the
fridge to rest for an hour.
For the empanada filling,
heat one tbsp of oil in a
large frypan, sprinkle the
stock cube into the hot oil

and fry for thirty seconds,
stirring continuously. Add
the beef and fry for about
two minutes until brown. Set
the meat and the juices to
one side.
Heat the remaining tbsp of
olive oil, add the onion and
green pepper, fry until soft,
about three minutes. Add
the garlic, and fry for a further minute. Add the wine,

cumin, paprika, chilli powder, olives and the salt and
pepper. Fry for a further
minute, stirring continuously.
Return the meat and juices
to the pan and mix well, set
aside to go cold.
To fill the empanadas, take
the pastry out of the fridge,
and on a well-floured surface, roll out a thin sheet.
Using a saucer as a tem-

plate, cut out discs of pastry.
On one half of the pastry circle place a tbsp of the filling,
brush the edge with egg,
fold over, and crimp the
edges together.

Brush with egg and place on
a greased baking tray. Bake
for ten minutes or until golden.
Serve either hot or cold as a
snack or starter.

a few drops of sesame oil
sea salt (optional)
METHOD
If you have time, start by brining the chicken. Dissolve the
sugar and salt in 200ml of hot water, then add another litre of
cold water. Submerge the chicken and leave it for 2 hours.
To cook the chicken, drain and rinse it thoroughly if you’ve
brined it, then pat it dry. To make the first coating, whisk the
flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt together – this coating
helps the batter to stick, otherwise it tends to fall off. Dust the
chicken in this mixture, patting off any excess, and leave it to
stand while you make the batter.
To make the batter, whisk together the dry ingredients, then
add 100ml of ice-cold water and the vodka – the texture
should be quite thin, rather like unwhisked double cream.
Half fill a deep fryer or a large saucepan with oil and heat the
oil to 160°C. If you don’t have a thermometer and you’re
using a saucepan, test the oil with a piece of bread – it should
take around 30 seconds to turn a crisp golden brown; any
quicker and the oil is too hot.
Dip the chicken pieces in the batter one at a time. Allow any
excess to drip off over the bowl containing the batter, then
slowly lower each piece into the hot oil, letting go when it is
almost completely submerged. Fry for 8–10 minutes, then
remove and drain on kitchen paper. The chicken should be
cooked through but barely taken on any colour.
Now heat the oil to 190°C, or if using a saucepan, turn the
heat up and leave it for about 5 minutes to reach the right
temperature. When the oil is ready, fry the chicken for another 2 minutes until it has darkened. Remove and drain thoroughly. It should be beautifully crisp. Serve the chicken as it
is with the sauces, or brush some of the sweet soy sauce
over it and serve with rest and the chilli sauce. Sprinkle with
sesame seeds if you like.
For the sweet soy sauce, put the soy, mirin, rice wine vinegar,
ginger,garlic and brown sugar in a saucepan. Stir over a low
heat to dissolvethe sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes. Taste for seasoning, adda little salt if necessary and a
few drops of sesame oil to taste. Whisk thecornflour with a little cold water until you have a smooth but very runnypaste,
then whisk this into the sauce over a low heat, until the
saucethickens very slightly. Set aside.
For the chilli sauce, simply whisk all the ingredients together

and thin with a little water if too thick. Taste and add salt if
necessary.

role dish. Set these pans onto the center rack of the preheated oven. Pour hot water into the
outside pan, until it reaches a depth of 1 inch around the casserole dish, creating a water
bath.
Bake the pudding in the water bath until it is fully set and a knife inserted into the center of
the pudding comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. The water bath will help the pudding to cook
evenly and maintain a light texture. Carefully remove the pudding from the water bath and
cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Just before serving, make the sauce by melting 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup orange liqueur, 3 tablespoons water, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and
1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir and heat over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved and the
liquid is heated through. Remove from heat.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk 1 egg until well beaten. While whisking the egg, slowly pour 2
tablespoons of the hot mixture into the bowl with the egg. Then, while whisking mixture vigorously, slowly pour the warmed egg mixture back into the sauce.
Place the saucepan back over low heat, gently stirring the sauce and raising the temperature
slowly to medium. Continue to stir until the sauce almost reaches a simmer, reducing the
heat as necessary if the mixture threatens to boil. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens,
1 to 2 minutes. Spoon over the bread pudding and serve immediately.

Food & Drink

Friday 17th February 2017

21

22

Health

Friday 17th February 2017

Ireland to legalise cannabis for
specific medical conditions

Ireland is set to legalise the
use of cannabis for treating

specific medical conditions, after a report com-

missioned by the government said the drug could

be given to some patients
with certain illnesses.
The Irish health minister,
Simon Harris, said he
would support the use of
medical cannabis “where
patients have not responded to other treatments and
there is some evidence
that cannabis may be
effective”.
The report said cannabis
could be given to patients
with a range of illnesses
including multiple sclerosis
and severe epilepsy, and
to offset the effects of
chemotherapy.
“I believe this report marks
a significant milestone in
developing policy in this
area,” Harris said. “This is
something I am eager to
progress but I am also obligated to proceed on the
basis of the best clinical
advice.”
Most marijuana medicinal
benefits are inconclusive,
wide-ranging study finds
Read more
Last November, Harris
asked Ireland’s Health
Products
Regulatory
Authority (HPRA) to examine the latest evidence on
cannabis for medical use
and how schemes to facilitate this operate in other
countries.
The study found “an
absence of scientific data
demonstrating the effectiveness of cannabis products” and warned of “insufficient information on [the
drug’s] safety during longterm use for the treatment
of chronic medical conditions”.
“The scientific evidence

supporting the effectiveness of cannabis across a
large range of medical conditions is in general poor,
and often conflicting,” it
added.
However, it added that any
decision on legalising use
of cannabis was ultimately
for society and the government to make.
Harris said he wanted to
set up a “a compassionate
access programme for
cannabis-based
treatments” and was now considering any changes in
the law needed for its operation.
The new medical cannabis
scheme will run for five
years and will be constantly monitored by Irish health
service experts.
The big policy shift came in
the same week that the
Fine Gael-led coalition in
Dublin backed the idea of a
“safe injection” room for
heroin addicts in Ireland’s
capital.
The Temple Bar Company,
which represents bars,
clubs, restaurants and
other businesses in the
cultural-entertainment
quarter on the south bank
of the Liffey in Dublin,
expressed opposition to
locating any of the injection
centres in or close to the
tourist district.
The Temple Bar chief executive, Martin Harte, said
businesses in the tourist
centre collected 1,500
syringes from the streets
around the area every
year.
The Guardian's Science
Weekly Is emergent quan-

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in classical physics? Science Weekly podcast
Does strange quantum
behaviour emerge from
run-of-the-mill
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this tell us about the fundamental nature of reality?
Listen
“We are bracing ourselves
for an increase in the level
of syringe disposals and
related antisocial behaviour,” he said.
“Addiction centres make
no provision for what happens outside of opening
hours … The Temple Bar
Company is not opposed
to tackling issues with
drugs in Ireland, but we are
opposed to proposals that
exacerbate and fuel an
injecting
epidemic
in
Dublin city.”
Last year, Aodhán Ó
Ríordáin, the former Irish
Labour party junior health
minister, became the first
politician to call publically
for a safe injection centre
for the more than 20,000
registered heroin addicts in
Dublin alone.
Ó Ríordáin also said he
favoured making the possession of heroin, cocaine
or other opiates for personal use no longer an
arrestable offence.
Although he is no longer in
government, after last
year’s
election,
Ó
Ríordáin’s suggestion of
partial decriminalisation of
drugs among users won
the backing of rank-and-file
police officers in Ireland,
who said it would free up
resources.

Health

23

Friday 17th February 2017

Why Do We Feel Pain?
Pain is a valuable warning signal to the body. Pain keeps
the body out of harm's way. The body will be more prone to
injuries and danger without pain. People that have lost pain
sensation due to disease like diabetes are more susceptible
to damage and need to examine their feet frequently for
undetected wounds.
Pain helps us avoid potentially hazardous situations in
future. We are motivated to avoid circumstances that cause
pain. A child's first time experience with fire is a lesson not
forgotten.
The nervous system which includes the nerves and brain
run continuously through the body as the key informationcarrying network of the body. The nerves transmit pain signals in a similar way that electricity flows through wires, and
the brain is responsible for interpreting the signals as pain.
Organs that have no nerves such as the brain do not cause
pain when injured. The nerves are sensitive to compression,
and this is the source of most of the pain we feel in the body.
Although pain is essential for survival, it produces stress
in the body, and the body releases chemicals called endorphins to block some of the pain messages transmitted to the
brain. The brain also produces chemicals such as serotonin

- the feel good hormone- to neutralize pain sensation. A
study from the University of Wisconsin found that when volunteers dipped their arm into freezing water after hearing
messages that were uplifting, neutral or depressing, the
happy group dealt with the pain better. Another study found
that listening to music that is enjoyable boosted pain tolerance.

As pain flows through the network of nerves, it becomes
linked to other signals such as emotions that also flow
through the nerves. These emotions such as mood, fear,
joy, panic, etc. will affect the way the body perceives pain at
any given moment.
Pain is an individual experience and depends on the
brain's interpretation, which in turn depends on the body's
physical and emotional state. Happy emotions encourage
the body to produce the ' happy hormone,' serotonin which
neutralizes pain signals. Stress and negative emotions trigger the production of chemicals that worsen pain such as
substance P.
Imbalances of the hormonal system and the immune system increases the body's sensitivity to pain. Diseases that
cause chronic pain such as Fibromyalgia cause a dysfunction of the hormonal system that leaves the body hypersensitive to pain.
The nerves are sensitive to toxic chemicals, and maintaining a lifestyle that discourages toxins in the body will
help relieve chronic pain in the body.
Call 965071745 For A Whole Body Diagnostic Scan

Switching to wholegrains may boost metabolism
"Eating more wholegrain foods can help to speed up
weight loss, scientists claim," the Daily Mail reports.
Researchers found that people who ate a diet high in
wholegrains absorbed less energy from food than people
who ate a similar diet, but with refined grains (such as
white flour).
The study included 81 men and women in the US, who
were each allocated to eat a wholegrain or refined grain
diet for six weeks, after a two week run-in period of eating
no wholegrain. All food and drink was provided during the
study.
People provided stool samples, gave blood samples,
and had their metabolic rate tested. On the latter,
researchers were interested in what is known as the resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is the amount of energy

the body burns during rest. RMR is sometime used as a
benchmark for how efficiently the metabolism is working.
People who ate the wholegrain diet were found to pass
more stools (poo). They also had a higher RMR: although
this difference was so small it could have been down to
chance. These two factors combined amounted to an average difference in energy balance between the two groups
of about 92 calories a day.
Assuming people didn't eat more to make up the difference, the study authors said, this would amount to a weight
loss of about 2.5kg over a year.
If this modest amount of weight loss doesn't seem inspiring, wholegrain foods include more micronutrients than
refined grains, and may improve digestion and reduce the
risk of bowel cancer.

24

Friday 17th February 2017

Fashion

Dressing up, going casual are merging in menswear
A new vibe is blowing through the menswear scene this winter.
In the corporate world, executives are trading in classic,
boxy suits for soft, tailored blazers and relaxed trousers in soft
herringbone patterns and funky windowpane prints.
Meanwhile, men with a more casual style have (thankfully)
moved beyond the slim-yet-droopy-backside jeans to the fitted
jogger-and-custom-sweatshirt combo. How do they pull it all
together? With a sports jacket and velvet high-tops.
In other words, fashionable guys spent most of 2016 building wardrobes to reflect the new fashion reality - the tailored inbetween.
"Men are dressing down, but they are also dressing up,"
said Jian DeLeon, senior menswear editor for WGSN, a global-trend forecasting firm. "It's the choose-your-own-adventure
era in menswear. He's trying to figure out which rules he wants
to break, depending on what he's feeling like and where he is
in life."
Corporate entities - since JPMorgan Chase's decision in
June to allow employees to wear silk-blend chinos and cashmere pullovers - are going more casual. The new breed of
CEOs (Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Tumblr's David Karp)
don't need stiff, classic looks to communicate power.
"We have guys who are coming in ready to try something
more interesting and comfortable," said Matt Brown, vice president and general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue in Bala
Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
This fall, Saks introduced its seven office essentials: the
refined top (a dressier polo), the perfect (tailored) pants, the
hybrid shoe, the sporty suit, the clean sneaker, the easy layer
and the leather bag.
"The idea is to mix a more casual look like a sneaker or a
pullover into his wardrobe mix," Brown said.
At the same time, guys are using the tailored pants or sporty
suit to take their existing look up a notch. Men also are going
more custom, not only for the three-button-blazer-and-vestsuit combos, but also for their athletic wear. After all, athleisure
requires a better fit.
"These guys have spent the last few years learning about
custom," said Brian Lipstein, the designer behind Henry A.
Davidsen. "Now they want the rest of their wardrobe to feel just

as nice."
A retail landscape that's wooing the Y chromosome is paying off. U.S. menswear's sales growth continue to outpace
women's, having increased 3 percent this year over last year,
from $62.5 billion to $64.4 billion; the fastest-growing categories are two-piece athletic sets and accessories, according
to the New York-based consumer-tracking service the NPD
Group.
Runway designers have taken note. In the past year, many
of the most popular collections in Paris, Milan, and New York
have opted to show menswear on their women's runways.
Last month, Calvin Klein's creative director, Raf Simons,
announced his decision to show both collections on one runway, joining Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, and
Burberry in the practice.
Interest in men's fashion has come a long way since the
days of the metrosexual - the original style-obsessed dude
who, in the early 2000s, emerged from the ashes of the sloppy
'90s wearing a very fitted suit and carrying an umbrella.
The typical guy largely ignored this look. But it wasn't long
before the ways of the hipster (favoring all things fitted while

twirling his ponytail into a man bun) or the lumbersexual
(choosing beards and plaid shirts) caught on. With each trendy
dude reincarnation, men's fashion has blossomed on runways
- and Instagram.
So at the start of 2017, it seems the old fashion fears are
gone, whether we're talking about guys who suit up, tend
toward the androgynous, don athletic attire, or - amazing as it
might sound - like all three. His wardrobe can take him from
day to night. Sound familiar, ladies?
"What finally happened is that guys in basketball like
Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul began adopting these looks in
their own way, and they became universal and aspirational,"
said Sabir Peele, a menswear brand consultant and founder of
Men's Style Pro.
"Guys just started to understand, 'I can do all of this. I can
be sporty or wear a suit like a corporate guy. I can create my
own look.'"
With this new experimentation came an excess of new
accessories in 2016: dotted pocket squares, solid knit ties,
smart fedoras, jackets with custom linings. And the shoes whether shined to dress up, or clean sneakers to dress down
- pull everything together.

Travel

Friday 17th February 2017

25

Carnival Culture
Anyone would not be wrong in traditionally associating
“Carnival” with hot, sunny weather; golden, sandy beaches
and warm, balmy sunsets, not forgetting bikini-clad revellers
dancing to the deafening sound of samba music from dusk
until dawn. However, “Carnival” in Spain, or “los Carnavales”,
as they are called in Spanish, does not quite fit in with the
above description.
Carnival is celebrated in February, which is not the warmest
month of the year in many parts of the country; however, the
fiesta, nowadays one of the most popular in Spain, is celebrated as a prelude to Easter and in particular, the forty days of
Lent.
Carnival has its roots in the Christian calendar and is traditionally a religious festival. It is celebrated all over the world
and according to some historians, dates back to as far as
Egyptian and Sumerian times, with similar celebrations during
the age of the Roman Empire.
In many countries, “Carnival” is only celebrated over three
days and this period always falls on the three days directly
before Ash Wednesday, which in the Christian calendar is the
official start of Lent.
The word “carnival” supposedly comes from the Latin term
“carnelevarium”, meaning “the removal of meat”. During the
forty days of Lent that lead up to Easter, it was prohibited to
eat meat and people had to abstain from any other type of
pleasure including eating eggs or dairy products, sex and generally having fun. For this reason, the “Carnival” celebrations

were the last chance that people had to indulge in every kind
of excess before the forty days of fasting, penitence and
prayer.
Today, there are a number of “Carnival” celebrations that
have become a huge tourist attraction, and visitors flock from
all over the world to see. Probably the most famous are those
of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and New Orleans in Louisiana,
which are known as “Mardi Gras” or “Fat Tuesday”.
Surprisingly, for such a religious country, the religious side
of the “Carnival” fiestas has been lost in most parts of Spain.
The celebrations last longer, usually throughout the whole
month of February and the first week of March with the best
events at the weekend.
The highlight of the main “Carnival” fiestas are the two processions that usually take place a week apart, one during the
day and the second at night.
Around thirty different groups, or “comparsas” participate in
the parades, involving hundreds of people, with thousands lining the streets to watch.
The carnival parade is not only a procession but also a competition for the best-designed carnival costume with huge cash
prizes on offer for the winners. There are several categories
under which the costumes are judged, including fantasy, fancy
dress, individual and group.
All members of a “comparsa” are dressed the same and

often perform a dance routine as they parade along the main
streets of the town. The costumes, often humorous, are a work
of art, and can be designed from innovative materials such as
acetate paper, rubber, plastic, aluminium and other such materials. Some of the more elaborate costumes can weigh up to
25 kilos and measure up to 3m high.
Carnival time is a vibrant, colourful, fantastic, fun and exotic
festivity, which offers a sharp and welcome contrast to the
weather of that time of year.

FERRY TO LA MANGA
For the small sum of 8 euros return you can take a small yet pleasurable ferry trip from San Javier to La Manga del Mar Menor.
The ferry company B&R Ferrys runs regular boat trips all year round from the Esplanada Barnuevo at Santiago de la Ribera (San
Javier) arriving at the Club Naútico El Estacio at the Tomás Maestre Port of La Manga just 30 minutes later.
The journey covers a distance of seven kilometres and the ferry travels at ten knots per hour. The same journey in the car is
approximately 20 kilometres and would take roughly the same time - yet travelling by boat is much more fun!
There are two ferries used to run these trips, both built just a few years ago. The larger of the two carriers measures 22m, has
three motors and can hold 150 passengers. The smaller ferry measures 16.5m, has two motors and has seating room for 60
people. Dogs are allowed on board and children travel for free.
There are regular crossings with departures from San Javier every two hours from 11.30h until 19.30h. To return from La Manga
boats leave from 10.30am and have subsequent crossings at 12.30h, 15.00h, 16.30h and 18.30h. These trips are available daily.
Depending on the time you have, you can just hop over to the “strip” for lunch in one of the many first-class restaurants around
the port area, or you can spend the day relaxing on the beautiful beaches whilst admiring the stunning views. For those that like
an active lifestyle, maybe a walk or bike ride from one end of the strip to the other would be in order. This area is also excellent
for water sports such as sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, and scuba diving. Whatever you plan to do on La Manga, make sure that
you take your beach gear, as you’ll definitely want to enjoy one of the nicest beaches around.
It is possible to stay overnight in La Manga in one of the many hotels or self-catering apartments. There is one 5 star hotel, four
4 star hotels and numerous 3 star hotels to choose from.
La Manga is also known for its superb nightlife, particularly during the summer, where the bars are open until late and the clubs
until the early hours of the morning.
Whatever your reason, the ferry trip to La Manga is a fantastic way to spend a few hours, an afternoon, or even a few days, as
La Manga has everything to ensure its visitors enjoy an unforgettable stay.

Valdepeñas For the love of wine
Wine connoisseurs will be familiar
with the name of this town, as it is
the capital of Castilla-La Mancha’s
immense wine region. Valdepeñas is
the world’s largest wine-producing
area, covering 30,000 hectares and
makes excellent white, red, rosé and
claret wines.
For those that want a break from taking in the historical sites or walking
through the many natural parks, a
visit to one of the 47 vineyards, or
bodegas, may be just the thing.
As you can see, it is clear that this
region of Castilla-La Mancha boasts
a marvellous countryside and cultural and historical heritage that visitors to the area can enjoy all year
round.

27

Friday 17th February 2017

TRELI ON THE TELLY
WITH
ALEX TRELINSKI

I’ve never forgiven Dan
Stevens for destroying my
Christmas Day in 2013
when his character Matthew
Crawley met his maker
thanks to a shocking
Downton Abbey episode
finale featuring the infamous
car accident. Life was never
the same again, but for
Stevens, he’s been based in
the States and has found a
new starring role that is a zillion miles away from the
Downton lifestyle. This
comes on a show called
Legion that has started on
FOX UK and countless
channels across the globe.
If you think that American
Horror Story and Fortitude
are strange, they have nothing on Legion for creating
confusion and wondering
what the hell you are actually watching. That’s not bad
incidentally and weird is
good, especially as Legion
is the baby of Noah Hawley,
who has brought Fargo in
triumph to the small screen
(series three starring Ewan
McGregor is on the way).
If I tell you that Legion
comes from the Marvel stable, then you start thinking
of superhero, but we are in

Dan’s Resurrection

X-Men mutant territory here
as we meet the Marvel character of David Hallant (his
dad apparently is Professor
Xavier…now you’ve got it!),
played by Dan Stevens, who
is banged up in a mental
hospital as he is apparently
suffering from schizophrenia
and violent tendencies. To
say that I couldn’t work out
what was going on early
doors is something of an
understatement as I thought
I was watching a mix of
Clockwork Orange and The
Prisoner, with some sixties
tunes, drugs, and some
strange folk. We even got a
female ally of David called
Syd Barrett, a straight lift
from the drug-taking member of Pink Floyd in the sixties, as she convinces him
that there’s a lot more to him
than schizophrenia, as we
see his telepathic skills
amongst other things. David
escapes in Syd’s body as
they switch minds and then
meets some other mutants,
and that’s it for episode one!
The opener for Legion hits
you in the face and looks
visually
stunning
and
Stevens gives a great performance, as well looking

really young! But there were
a couple of times early on
that I nearly gave up as I just
didn’t get it, but things
became clearer, perhaps
like David’s mind, and I’m
glad I stuck with it, because
you cannot accuse Legion
of being boring. It will be an
acquired taste but Noah
Hawley has insisted on just
eight episodes for the first
series to avoid “padding”,
and this drama should be
applauded for daring to be
different as opposed to the
conveyor-belt production
line of crime and police procedurals that US TV produces a lot of.
If Dan Stevens looks
about early twenties in
Legion, then Lucas Till
seems like a teenager in the
reboot of MacGyver on Sky
One. Gone are the chiselled
features of Richard Dean
Anderson from the original
series, as Till, who costarred with Miley Cyrus in
the Hannah Montana movie
a few years ago, brings a
young look to the show.
The older stuff comes
from
ex-CSI
favourite
George Eads (Nick Stokes
of course), as he and

MacGyver lead a secret US
government team to fight
baddies. Fans of the original
hate it, but there’s nothing
wrong with this “Mission
Impossible”-style hokum,
and it’s getting good numbers for CBS in the States,
so it will be around for a few
years,
I can’t believe that No
Offence finished series two
this week on Channel Four,
and it is a no-brainer that it

will return for another run.
Putting aside the stratospheric Line of Duty, which is
another beast, this is the
best UK cop show for years,
with strong female characters in the forefront.
Wouldn’t be great if we
could get a dozen or so
episodes a year, but I wonder if that happened
whether No Offence would
lose the high quality in a
similar fate that befell the

other Paul Abbott creation,
Shameless. No Offence also
delivered a better second
series than the first back in
2014 and I order you to
catch up and enjoy, if you
have not caught this gem
already. Talking of strong
female characters, a massive thumbs-up to the second and final part of The
Moorside on BBC 1 on
Tuesday in an utterly
absorbing hour of drama.

28
And who are the police at
the wedding for?

Friday Zak has second
thoughts about Kyle's care,
but is it already too late for
the recent decision to be
reversed?
Meanwhile, concern grows
for Aaron when he suffers
a panic attack amid his
growing worry over his
upcoming
sentencing.
Robert has an idea to help,
but will it work?
Elsewhere,
David
is
shocked by the content of
Tracy's novel when he
sneaks a peek.
Also today, Chas and
Paddy's romance steps up
a notch, while Debbie is
hiding a secret about
Sarah's treatment that
could get her into trouble.

Monday Robert is planning to spring a surprise
wedding on Aaron, but various problems could affect
the big day. A disapproving
Paddy is one person who
could throw a spanner in
the works, while there's
also trouble getting Aaron
to The Woolpack where
everything is prepared for
the ceremony â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at least
until Cain intervenes with
some heavy-handed tactics to get him there!
Aaron is excited when he
finally finds out what
Robert has planned, but
when police rush into the
pub in the middle of the
ceremony, will it stop
Robron from tying the
knot?
Tuesday The police have
gatecrashed Robert and
Aaron's wedding, but will
they still manage to tie the
knot before Aaron is sent
to jail?

SOAPS

Friday 17th February 2017

Meanwhile, Debbie agrees
to let Charity take Sarah
abroad for treatment,
accepting that going her- Friday Having heard a
self would be too risky with report on the radio about
the missing teenage girl,
her criminal record.
Sarah warns Bethany to be
Elsewhere, Laurel confides extra vigilant. Bethany
in Will on the anniversary masks her concern. With
Nathan still asking her to
of baby Daniel's death.
give him an alibi, Bethany
Also today, David visits the is torn.
doctor, while Paddy confides in Marlon over recent Later, Mel takes Bethany
into town and plies her with
events.
vodka. As Bethany stagThursday Aaron is sen- gers out of the club, Rana
tenced to 12 months spots her and realises
behind bars and sent to she's drunk, so offers to
jail.
take her home. However,
Nathan then pulls up in his
Will he be able to cope with car. Opening the door for
his time in prison?
Bethany, he assures Rana
he's a friend and he'll take
Meanwhile, Debbie asks care of her.
Ross to help her out with a
fake passport, having Meanwhile, Peter and Nick
changed her mind about set off in search of Simon,
not going to Prague with leaving Toyah at home in
Sarah.
case he calls. Leanne calls
at the flower shop flat
Elsewhere, Gabby warns wanting to know where
Laurel that Will may have Nick and Simon have got
his eye on her.
Also, Liv finds herself lonely when Gabby and Jacob
get together, while Paddy
is in a sad mood of his
own.
Faith uncovers Debbie's
secret plan to go to Prague
and interferes by stealing
her boarding passes.
When Debbie heads to the
airport with Sarah, she's
plagued by last-minute
doubts over her fake passport and how reliable it will
really be. Will she take the
risk anyway?
Meanwhile, when Liv overhears Doug making nasty
remarks about her family,
she gets Gabby on board
with a revenge plan.
Elsewhere, Laurel suspects that Will sent her the
Valentines Day roses when
he arrives at her home with
a bottle of wine. Also,
Sandy is reluctant to visit
Ashley, Aaron struggles
behind bars, and Rakesh
get steamy with Priya in
the factory office.

to. Toyah is forced to admit
that they let Simon go to a
party at the Trafford Centre
and they haven't seen him
since. Leanne is beside
herself.
Leanne tears a strip off
Toyah and Peter for their
irresponsible behaviour
and tells Toyah that she
wouldn't understand as
she's not a mother. Toyah
is cut to the quick.
Monday Peter explains to
Ken how desperate Toyah
is for a baby and persuades him to lend him the
money for a consultation at
a private fertility clinic.
When Peter announces
that he's booked an
appointment for this afternoon, Toyah is thrilled.

However, when Toyah witnesses Leanne forgiving
Eva for her part in keeping
Toyah and Peter's relationship a secret, she gets
jealous and follows Leanne
into the Victoria Court lift.
Once there, she rails at
Leanne for her jibe about
her not being a mum.
Suddenly the lift judders to
a halt. Having discovered
the alarm isn't working and
there's no phone signal,
the girls start to panic especially when Leanne's
waters break.
Sarah confronts Bethany,
who is clearly under pressure and admits that she
stayed at Nathan's flat.
Bethany explains that he's
her boyfriend and he rescued her when she collapsed. When Sarah wants
to know if they've had sex,
Bethany assures her they
haven't, but is she telling
the truth?
Wednesday As Toyah
cuddles the baby, Leanne
announces that they're
calling him Oliver. Clearly
the proud dad, Nick
reveals that he's booked
them an appointment to
register the baby's name
tomorrow afternoon.
Back at home, the Platts
visit the new baby. Peter
and Toyah discover they
both know that Nick is not
the baby's father and it
must be very difficult for
him.
Later, alone at last with
their new baby, Leanne
breaks the news to Nick
that she doesn't want his
name on Oliver's birth certificate as it would seem
wrong. How will Nick react
to this?
Meanwhile, when Michelle
finds out Leanne has had
the baby, she is emotional
but genuinely pleased for
her and insists they visit.
Steve is horrified at the
thought, but knows he
must play along for her
sake. Making out he's too
upset as it stirs up memories of Ruairi, Steve waits
outside.

Thursday Denise is forced
to deal with the consequences of her actions.

Friday The Carters continue to prepare for Polish
Night at the Queen Vic, but
the family suffer yet another setback when an
Environmental Health officer arrives after reports of
food poisoning.
Meanwhile, Kim infuriates
Denise by suggesting that
she could still change her
mind about the baby when
she attends a meeting
about the adoption next
week.

Later, Denise despairs
over the current state of
the Walford community
and decides to take action
by calling the Gazette.
Meanwhile, Jack lets Dot
down when he can't take
her to the garden centre as
promised. When Dot sees
that Jack has left his
Satnav at her place, she
decides to go to the garden
centre by herself with
Matthew.
Elsewhere, Ben and Jay
settle in their new home.

Elsewhere, Jack takes Dot
for her next round of injections.

When Isaac suspects
Dominic has spent the
night with another man,
he's consumed with jealousy and provokes a vulnerable patient, resulting in
a violent incident.
Tuesday Denise receives
a visit from the social worker, who updates her on the
baby's progress, but Kim
makes things awkward by
demanding even more
information about the child.
Later, an emotional Denise
tries to explain her feelings
to Kim, but she soon has
even more aggro on her
hands when she finds herself in an argument with
Keegan. As Denise confronts Keegan for being
disrespectful, their argument spirals out of control.
Meanwhile, Mick discovers
that the problems at the
Queen Vic are even worse
than
everyone
first
thought.
Elsewhere, when Ian goes
for his health check, he's
advised to go and visit his
GP. Despite this, he lies to
his family by insisting
everything is fine.
Also today, Ben and Jay
move into Number 18.

Isaac admits that he needs
help, but is he able to be
truly honest with Dominic?
Meanwhile, Mo and Mr T
have decided on their
respective roles as fulltime surgeon and stay-athome dad. However, a
challenging cardiac case
and Hector's suspected
meningitis leads them to
re-evaluate their decision.
Elsewhere, Serena's abrasiveness towards Jasmine
worries
Morven,
but
Jasmine doesn't appreciate her interference. Is
Serena hard on Jasmine
because she feels she has
the makings of an excellent doctor, or is there an
alternative explanation?

07:00 My Life in Books
07:30 Wanted Down Under
Revisited
08:15
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 09:00 DIY
SOS: The Big Build 10:00
Victoria Derbyshire 12:00
News 14:00 Cash in the
Attic 14:30 Beat the Brain
15:00 Landward 15:30
Wild Shepherdess with
Kate Humble 16:30 The
Blue Planet 17:25 A Place
to Call Home 18:15 Flog It!
19:00
Eggheads
19:30 Great American
Railroad Journeys
20:00 Big Dreams Small
Spaces Monty Don visits
two sets of ambitious gardeners, each facing challenges on a very different
scale. One is a tiny urban
courtyard in Hackney and
the other is a outdoor area
for a community.
21:00 Mastermind Quiz
21:30 Only Connect Two
losing teams return for a
last chance to make it to
the quarter-finals.

22:00 The Lake District: A
Wild Year For the wildlife
and people who live
amongst the epic scenery
of the Lake District, life is
one of continuous change.
Cutting-edge camera techniques give a new and
unique perspective on a
turbulent year-in-the-life of
England’s largest national
park.

22:00 Piers Morgan’s
Life Stories The host is
joined this week by 1980s
pop icon Boy George, who
reflects on his often controversial life and career.
He recalls his complex
relationship with his violent but loving father, and
how - at the age of just
eight - he helped his mother survive a suicide
attempt.

22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats
Does Countdown Jimmy
Carr hosts the comedy
panel show's version of the
words-and-numbers quiz,
as Jon Richardson and
David Mitchell take on
guest
captain
Joe
Wilkinson and Roisin
Conaty. Tom Allen joins
Countdown's resident lexicographer Susie Dent in
Dictionary Corner and
Rachel Riley looks after the
numbers and letters.

07:00 Milkshake 10:15
The Wright Stuff 12:15
GPs: Behind Closed Doors
13:10 News 13:15 Winter
Road Rescue 14:15 Home
and
Away
14:45
Neighbours 15:20 NCIS
16:20 Film - Forbidden
Secrets (14) 18:00 News
18:30 Neighbours 19:00
Home and Away 19:30
News
20:00
Carry
On
Caravanning Lee, Mat
and Jon take their cara-virgin friend Ben on his first
caravanning
holiday.
Sunbed Jonny throws a
Spanish
fiesta-themed
evening. Imogen and
Jonathan take their brand
new imported Shasta caravan for a disastrous weekend in Sussex. Laura and
Andrea take their four kids
to the Lake District.
21:00 Celebrity Carry On
Barging On the second
leg of the foursome’s jaunt
along the Kennet and Avon
canal, Simon lets his love
of history steer the way to
a forgotten waterway.
22:00 Cruising With Jane
McDonald Joined by just
six other passengers on
what is easily her smallest
ever cruise, Jane enjoys
unseasonably good weather as she visits the puffinpacked Treshnish Islands.
23:00 Bankrupt & Broke:
When Celebs Go Bust
00:30 Lip Sync Battle UK
01:00 SuperCasino 04:10
The Nightmare Neighbour
Next Door 05:00 The
Railways That Built Britain
with Chris Tarrant

Friday BBC Two
In England’s largest national park nothing stands still and everything is in a state of continuous change.
Using a huge range of photographic techniques, The Lake District:
A Restless Year gives a new and unique perspective on a year in
the life of the Lake District, and an insight into the wildlife and people who live in this dramatic landscape.
Fixed cameras all over the Lake District show the scenery as it
transforms; changes that take weeks and months appear to pass
in seconds. As the year begins, ice and snow give way to the
green and sunshine - and truly British rain - of spring and summer,
followed by the violent storms and deep-freeze of autumn and
winter. Throughout this, the animals, plants and people that call
the Lake District home have to weather everything that this stunning landscape can throw at them.
Elsewhere, unique Lake District stories continue to unfold. Herdwick sheep give birth to their lambs, signaling the traditional start
of the year, while climbers rescue sheep trapped on rocky ledges, caterpillars gingerly ‘disarm’ seed pods so they can feed before
the pods explode, and the record floods of December 2015 rip through the fells and towns alike.
Deep within ancient dry-stone walls, baby slugs have the perfect place to hatch, and tiny Jumping Spiders hunt amongst the rocks.
Tourists brave the April showers, while thousands of people take to the water in the biggest lake swimming event in Europe.
From shepherds herding thousands of sheep down from the mountain tops, to Red Squirrels - in one of their few English strongholds
- burying nuts to feed themselves over winter, to mountaineers braving the frozen peaks, each story takes a new approach to show
the challenges of living with the turbulent and unpredictable year.

Take Me Out
Celebrity Special
Sunday ITV
Paddy McGuinness plays cupid for three famous and single
men in this special celebrity edition of the hit dating show.
Eligible bachelors descending down the love lift tonight are
TOWIE star James “Arg” Argent, presenter and radio DJ
Melvin Odoom and Olympic medalist Nile Wilson.

Sunday BBC Two
BBC Films’ Testament of Youth is directed by James Kent and
stars Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington, Taron Egerton and Colin
Morgan.
Testament Of Youth is a searing story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain
which became the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s
point of view. A powerful and passionate journey from youthful
hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a
film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense
of the darkest times.
Vera Brittain, irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a
scholarship to Oxford. With everything to live for, she falls in
love with her brother’s close friend Roland Leighton, as they go
to University to pursue their literary dreams.
But the First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the
front Vera realises she cannot sit idly by as her peers fight for
their country, so volunteers as a nurse. She works tirelessly,
experiencing all the sorrows of war, as one by one those closest
to her are killed and the pillars of her world shattered. But Vera
is an indefatigable spirit. She endures and returns to Oxford,
irrevocably changed, yet determined to find a new purpose
which spurs her towards a powerful act of remembrance.

30

Friday 17th February 2017

The BRIT Awards 2017 - Wednesday ITV
Dermot O’Leary and Emma Willis host
star-studded ceremony live from The
O2, London. The show features performances from some of the biggest names
in music including Robbie Williams,
Emeli Sandé, Little Mix, Skepta, Ed
Sheeran and Bruno Mars.
The BRIT Awards 2017 with Mastercard
exclusively broadcast live on ITV Wednesday 22nd February 2017 from
The O2 Arena, London
Katy Perry will give her first UK TV
appearance in three years. Katy Perry:
“I’m excited to come back to one of my
favorite countries, where most of my
favorite musical influences come from.
After 3 years, I’m excited to return to the
BRITs’ stage to kick off a new era of purposeful pop.”
Skepta receives three nominations for British Male Solo Artist,
British Breakthrough Act and Mastercard British Album of the
Year for the critically acclaimed album ‘Konnichiwa’. His first
ever BRIT Award nominations follow a phenomenal year including his highest ever chart success.
Little Mix have continued to go from strength to strength with the
phenomenal reaction to their recent album ‘Glory Days’, which
spent four weeks at Number 1 last year. The lead track ‘Shout
Out To My Ex’ secured the group a nomination for British Single
and ‘Hair’ ft. Sean Paul for British Artist Video of the Year, topped
off with a Best British Group nomination further cementing their
place as the UK’s biggest girlband. The band will also perform
at this year’s ceremony as well as The 1975 and Emeli Sandé.
David Bowie and Leonard Cohen have both been recognised
posthumously with nominations for British Male Solo Artist and
International Male Solo Artist respectively. David Bowie’s final
album ‘Blackstar’ has also been recognised in the Mastercard
British Album of the Year category.
The International Female Solo Artist is a family affair with sisters
Beyoncé and Solange going up against each other. Rihanna
also receives her sixth nomination in this category having previously won the award twice.
Nominated in both British Single and British Artist Video of the
Year, two nominations go to Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna - ‘This Is
What You Came For’, Coldplay - ‘Hymn For The Weekend’,
James Arthur - Say You Won’t Let Go’, Jonas Blue ft. Dakota ‘Fast Car’, Tinie Tempah ft. Zara Larsson - ‘Girls Like’, Clean
Bandit ft. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie - ‘Rockabye’ and Zayn ‘Pillowtalk’.
Also receiving two nominations each Kano (British Male Solo
Artist, Mastercard British Album of the Year), Michael Kiwanuka
(British Male Solo Artist, Mastercard British Album of the Year)

Dates for your TV Diary

Broadchurch - 27 February

and The 1975 (British Group, Mastercard British Album of the
Year),
Jason Iley, BRITs Chairman said: “The 2017 BRIT nominations
reflect a diverse and rich year in music both in the UK and internationally. Huge artists from the past, present and future are
represented. From pop, to indie, to grime, to rock; it’s a brilliant
and varied roll call of talent - a fantastic showcase for what’s
happening in music right now.”
The BRIT Awards 2017 compilation album, released through
Universal Music on Friday 17th February, is now available to
pre-order. The hit packed album celebrates the biggest tracks of
the year from the best talent in music including The Weeknd,
Ellie Goulding, Zara Larsson, Little Mix, Sia, James Arthur,
Clean Bandit, and Christine and the Queens along with Critics’
Choice winner Rag'n'Bone Man.
2017 will celebrate the Awards 37th show since its debut year in
1977 (which was followed by a short break of a couple of years).
The BRIT Awards have established themselves as a global
music institution that annually celebrates UK chart and commercial successes. Last year (2016) The BRITs celebrated an
incredible night in British music with Adele picking up four
Awards as well as giving a show stopping performance. The
Awards raised an incredible £265k for Nordoff-Robbins Music
Therapy and The BRIT Trust from live performance downloads
and streams from the ceremony. The BRIT Awards annually
raises funds for The BRIT Trust charity, whose main beneficiaries are the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology,
Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and other selected charities. To
date, over £16.8million has been raised for The BRIT Trust charity.
Apple Music is the official music streaming and download partner for The BRIT Awards 2017, presenting the Best British
Female and Male categories.

Benidorm - 1 March

Prime Suspect 1973 - 2 March
You can read more about these shows on The Courier website this week, www.thecourier.es

07:30 Film - Stage Door
08:55 Film - Lucky Jim
10:30 Coast 11:00 Britain’s
Secret Seas 12:00 Homes
Under the Hammer 13:00 A
Cook Abroad 14:00 Talking
Pictures 14:30 Film - An
Ideal Husband (PG) 16:00
Escape to the Country
16:45 Mastermind 17:15
University Challenge 17:45
18:15
Connect
Only
Nature’s Weirdest Events
19:55 Let It Shine It’s the 19:00 Flog It!
semi-final and only four
bands remain in the compe- 20:00 The Lake District: A
tition. The bands are just Wild Year This documenone step away from making tary features cutting-edge
the final, and they are all camera techniques offering
tested on something all a new and unique perspecgood boybands need - how tive on a turbulent year in
to dance!
the life of England's largest
national park.
20:55 Casualty Iain tries to
make amends for his past
but gets more than he bar- 21:00 Grand Tours of the
gained for, while Dylan Scottish Islands Paul
struggles to cope in an ED Murton returns to explore
under pressure of binge more of the remote and fascinating places that lie off
drinkers.
the mainland.
21:45 Let It Shine It’s the
second part of the semi- 21:30 Dad’s Army Captain
final, and the results of the Mainwaring is challenged
viewer vote are revealed. by Captain Ogilvy and the
Highland Regiment to a war
22:15
Taboo
James game, with uplifting results.
Delaney has seemingly lost
everything, but when he 22:00 Film - Testament of
suffers
a
devastating Youth When her fiance and
betrayal, he realises even brother are sent to the front
his freedom is in jeopardy line during the early days of
and The Crown and the First World War, a
Company conspire to bring young woman gives up her
him down once and for all. studies at Oxford University
to follow them. (PG)
23:15 News 23:30 Match of
the Day 00:40 This Country 00:05 Film - Safe Haven
01:05 Film - Having You (PG) 01:55 Film - The
(15) 02:40 Weather for the White Ribbon (14) 04:10
Week Ahead 02:45 News
This Is BBC Two

07:20 The King of Queens
08:10 Everybody Loves
Raymond 09:30 Frasier
10:30 The Big Bang Theory
11:55 The Simpsons 13:00
Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday
Night Feast 14:00 Come
Dine with Me 16:35 A Place
in the Sun: Summer Sun
17:35 Location, Location,
20:00 Ninja Warrior UK Location 18:35 Grand
Ben Shephard, Rochelle Designs 19:30 News
Humes and Chris Kamara
host the final of the assault 20:00 The Restoration
course game show. Who Man Having never lived
will
conquer
Mount together before, architect
Midoriyama
and
be Neil Worrell and his partner
crowned the UK’s first Ninja Jackie Robinson decided to
Warrior?
cement their relationship by
purchasing a forgotten
21:00 The Voice UK The church in the picture perspinning-chair singing con- fect fishing town of Brixham
test reaches a crucial in Devon.
stage, as Emma Willis
introduces the seventh and 21:00
Great
Canal
final Blind Audition. As Journeys Timothy West
always, another selection and
Prunella
Scales
of would-be stars are ush- embark on a sun-kissed
ered onto the stage to per- voyage through the heart of
form, unseen by judges the Highlands - a world of
Jennifer Hudson, Gavin Loch
Ness
monster
Rossdale, Will.i.am and hunters, tales of Bonnie
Tom Jones, who must sig- Prince Charlie, and 60
nalling their approval by miles and 29 canal locks to
turning their chairs.
navigate on their way to the
ocean.
22:20
Through
the
Keyhole Keith Lemon is let 22:00 Film - Taken 2 In
loose around three more Istanbul, retired CIA operacelebrity homes as boxer tive Bryan Mills and his wife
David Haye, Corrie star are taken hostage by the
Samia Longchambon and father of a kidnapper Mills
TV presenter Dave Berry killed while rescuing his
try to guess who they daughter. (14)
belong to.

20:30 The Jump The
remaining celebrity contestants compete in the
skeleton event, which
requires them to ride down
a twisted track on a heavy
metal sled with their faces
millimetres from the ice.
The losers in each race will
then have to face the jump
to decide who will be the
next to leave the series.

19:25 Film - National
European
Lampoon’s
Vacation The disasterprone Griswolds appear
on a TV game show, and
through a happy accident,
end up winning a holiday
touring Europe. (12)

19:30 Live: FIA Formula
E Motor Racing The
Buenos
Aires
ePrix.
Coverage of the third
round of the campaign
from Puerto Madero Street
Circuit in Argentina.
21:10 Secrets Of The
Great Train Robbery A
look at how one of the
most famous heists in history, that was thought to be
a brilliantly planned and
daringly executed robbery,
was actually a scheme littered with mistakes, bad
decisions and careless
planning.
22:00 Football Highlights
from the weekend’s games
in the Championship,
including Birmingham City
v Queens Park Rangers at
St Andrew’s, Barnsley v
Brighton & Hove Albion at
Oakwell,
and
Wigan
Athletic v Preston North
End at DW Stadium.

Sunday TV
07:00 Breakfast 08:50
Match of the Day 10:00 The
Andrew Marr Show 11:00
The Big Questions 12:00
Bargain Hunt 13:00 News
13:15 Film - Shrek Forever
After (PG) 14:40 Live:
Match of the Day Fulham v
Tottenham Hotspur. 17:05
Escape to the Country
17:50 Lifeline 18:00 Songs
of Praise 18:35 News 19:00
The Big Painting Challenge
20:00 Countryfile It’s that
time of year when the
Cheddar Gorge has its
annual clean-up, but Ellie
didn’t think she would be
dangling from a rope to do
it.
21:00 Call the Midwife
Nonnatus House welcomes
new recruit, Nurse Valerie
Dyer. Meanwhile, a vulnerable young man captures
Fred and Violet’s hearts,
and the whereabouts of
Sister Mary Cynthia is a
concern.
22:00 SS-GB Drama set in
an alternate history of WWII
where Germany won the
Battle of Britain and has
gone on to occupy the UK.
23:00 News 23:30 Match of
the Day 00:10 American
High
School
00:55
Celebrity Apprentice USA
02:20 Weather 02:25 News

20:00 Take Me Out TOWIE
star James Argent, radio DJ
19:00 Film - Oz the Great Melvin Odoom and Olympic
and Powerful A shady cir- medallist Nile Wilson look
cus magician crashes his for love.
balloon in the magical land
of Oz, where he encounters
three beautiful witches and 21:00 Lion Country: Night
becomes a reluctant leader and Day As the rainy seain an epic battle of good vs. son approaches, the young
cubs of both prides are put
evil. (PG)
in jeopardy.
21:00 Dragons’ Den A selfassured Scottish entrepre- 22:00 The Good Karma
neur pitches his fitness Hospital Ruby becomes
personally involved in the
company for children.
case of an abandoned baby
22:00 Special Forces: that is brought to the hospiUltimate
Hell
Week tal during the Holi festival,
Reggie brings the contest- and Lydia is reunited with
ants to South Korea to train an expat artist, whose
under an officer from the unusual lifestyle may be
country's
Underwater about to catch up with him.
Demolition Team.
23:00 News 23:20 Peston
23:00 Film - Being AP (12) on Sunday 00:15 Aviva
00:40 Film - Defiance (14) Premiership Rugby 01:15
04:00
02:45 Question Time 03:45 Jackpot247
Holby City 04:45 This Is Chopping Block 04:50 ITV
Nightscreen
BBC Two

22:00 X-Men: Days of
Future Past In a future ravaged by war, the superhero
team makes a desperate
last stand against a force of
deadly robots. Their only
hope is to send Wolverine
back in time to the 1970s,
to join forces with an earlier
version of the X-Men and
change the events that
started the conflict. (PG)
00:40 Lawless (14) 02:40
The Last Leg 03:35 Phil:
Secret Agent Down Under
05:25 Kirstie’s Fill Your
House for Free

21:10 That’s So... An
entertaining look back at
events in 1985, using
news, pop and TV archive
clips to provide a nostalgic
reminder of the year.
Freddie
The
22:00
Mercury Story: Who
Wants to Live Forever?
To commemorate the 25th
anniversary of Freddie
Mercury’s death, this documentary marks what
would have been his 70th
year.
00:05 20 Moments that
Rocked the 80s 01:35 Lip
02:00
Battle
Sync
04:10
SuperCasino
Bargain Loving Brits in the
Sun

32
07:00 Breakfast 10:15
Britain’s Home Truths
11:00 Homes Under the
Hammer 12:00 Wanted
Down Under Revisited
12:45
Oxford
Street
Revealed 13:15 Bargain
Hunt 14:00 News 14:45
Doctors 15:15 The Coroner
16:00 Escape to the
Country
16:45
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 17:30 Flog It!
18:15 Pointless 19:00
News 20:00 The One Show
20:30 Live: Match of the
Day Sutton United v
Arsenal Coverage of the
fifth-round fixture, which
takes place at the Gander
Green Lane, as the nonleague side look to cause a
huge upset against the 12time winners of the competition. Sutton have already
defeated three Football
League teams to reach this
stage, with their scalp of
Championship high-flyers
Leeds United in round four
causing the biggest stir.
Arsene Wenger will be
wary of taking tonight’s
opponents lightly, and may
go against his usual cup
policy of blooding the
young players, with the artificial turf at the Borough
Sports Ground adding an
extra layer of unpredictability to the contest. (Kick-off
20.55).
23:00 News 23:45 Have I
Got a Bit More News for
You 00:30 The Graham
Norton
Show
01:15
Weather 01:20 News

Friday 17th February 2017

07:00 My Life in Books
07:30 Wanted Down Under
Revisited
08:15
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 09:00 The
Great
Interior
Design
Challenge 10:00 Victoria
Derbyshire 12:00 News
13:00 Daily Politics 14:00
Cash in the Attic 14:25
Beat the Brain 14:55
Landward 15:25 Mountain
16:25 The Blue Planet
17:25 A Place to Call Home
18:15 Antiques Road Trip
19:00 Eggheads 19:30
Great Continental Railway
Journeys
20:00 The Hairy Bikers’
Chicken and Egg In
Tetouan, the boys experience the full extent of
Spanish and Moorish influences on Moroccan cuisine.
21:00
University
Challenge Quiz
21:30 An Island Parish
The rainy season begins
and the islanders prepare
for the threat of hurricanes.
22:00
SAS:
Rogue
Warriors
With
David
Stirling locked away in
Hitler's most secure prison
Colditz, the leadership of
the SAS passed to Paddy
Mayne.
23:00 Cradle to Grave
23:30 Newsnight 00:15
Hospital 01:15 Countryfile
02:10 Who Do You Think
You Are? 03:10 Royal
Recipes 03:55 This Is BBC
Two

07:00 Good Morning
Britain 09:30 Lorraine
10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30
This Morning 13:30 Loose
Women 14:30 News 15:00
Judge
Rinder
16:00
James Martin’s French
Adventure 17:00 Tipping
Point 18:00 The Chase
19:00 News
20:00 Emmerdale Will
Aaron and Robert’s big
day go to plan?
20:30 Coronation Street
Michelle and Steve bid a
final farewell to Ruairi.
21:00 The Martin Lewis
Money Show Martin and
Saira look at lifetime ISAs
and tips on how a credit
card can act as a guarantee.
21:30 Coronation Street
There is new life on the
Street.
22:00 The Halcyon The
hotel celebrates its 50
year anniversary, but
Lucian struggles to keep
things in order as pressure
mounts and Adil attempts
to corner Toby and bring
him back from the edge of
doing something terrible.
Garland
and
Lady
Hamilton find a cause to
unite over.
23:00 News
23:40
Through the Keyhole
00:40 The Chase 01:35
Jackpot247 04:00 Jeremy
Kyle
04:55
ITV
Nightscreen

07:00 Countdown 07:45
The King of Queens 09:00
Everybody
Loves
Raymond 10:05 Frasier
11:05 Undercover Boss
USA 12:05 Ramsay’s
Kitchen Nightmares USA
13:00 News 13:05 A New
Life in the Sun 14:05 Find
It, Fix It, Flog It 15:10
Countdown 16:00 Fifteen
to One 17:00 A Place in the
Sun: Winter Sun 18:00
Come Dine with Me 19:00
The
Simpsons
19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00
News
Dispatches
21:00
Reporter Harry Wallop
investigates how leaving
the European Union and
the imposition of import
taxes could affect the cost
of UK shopping.
21:30 Food Unwrapped In
Ghana, Kate investigates a
ground-breaking new use
for a special enzyme found
in pineapple that destroys
dead skin in your mouth.
22:00 The Trouble with
Dad Comedian David
Baddiel has a problem: his
82-year-old dad Colin has
a rare form of dementia.
With the help of his older
brother David is trying to
hold on to what is left of
Colin.
23:00 Jon Richardson:
How to Survive the End of
the World 00:05 8 Out of
10 Cats Does Countdown
01:10 Parenting for Idiots
02:05 Girls to Men 03:00
The Wedding Day

Monday TV
07:00 Milkshake 10:15
The Wright Stuff 12:15
GPs: Behind Closed Doors
13:10 News 13:15 The
Nightmare Neighbour Next
Door 14:15 Home and
Away 14:45 Neighbours
15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film Lifetime Of Lies 18:00
News 18:30 Neighbours
19:00 Home and Away
19:30 News
20:00 The Cars That
Made Britain Great A raft
of celebrity faces take a
drive down Memory Lane,
sharing stories of being on
the open road for the first
time, featuring tales of
freedom,
love,
hate,
teenage rebellion and driving tests.
21:00
Winter
Road
Rescue Patrolman Simon
fights through a blizzard to
get to a lone woman who
has broken down on a
busy A road at night, while
coastguards have their
work cut out to keep the
public safe as a red alert is
issued for a huge tidal
surge.
22:00 The Railways That
Built Britain with Chris
Tarrant The broadcaster
examines the role of the
railways during the two
global conflicts of the 20th
century
23:00 TV’s 50 Greatest
Magic
Tricks
01:45
Criminals: Caught on
Camera
02:15
SuperCasino

Tuesday TV
07:00 Breakfast 10:15
Britain’s Home Truths
11:00 Homes Under the
Hammer 12:00 Wanted
Down Under Revisited
12:45
Oxford
Street
Revealed 13:15 Bargain
Hunt 14:00 News 14:45
Doctors 15:15 The Coroner
16:00 Escape to the
Country
16:45
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 17:30 Flog It!
18:15 Pointless 19:00
News 20:00 The One Show
20:30 EastEnders Denise
is faced with a difficult situation
21:00 Holby City Isaac’s
dark side comes to the surface as his relationship with
Dominic reaches breaking
point.
22:00 DIY SOS: The Big
Build When Terry Guest
had a brain injury, he was
left with severe disabilities,
and the only care available
for him was an old people’s
dementia care home,
where he remained for several years. His sister
Tracey offered help, but
like Terry’s home, her
house was also unsuitable.
Nick Knowles’s regulars
and a team of South
Yorkshire volunteers and
suppliers step in to adapt
Tracey’s home.
23:00
News
23:45
Imagine... 00:45 Who Do
You Think You Are? 01:45
Weather for the Week
Ahead 01:50 News

07:00 My Life in Books
07:30 Wanted Down Under
Revisited
08:15
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 09:00 Great
British Menu 10:00 Victoria
Derbyshire 12:00 News
13:00 Daily Politics 14:00
Countryfile 14:10 The
Super League Show 14:55
Landward 15:25 Mountain
16:25 The Blue Planet
17:25 A Place to Call Home
18:15 Antiques Road Trip
19:00 Eggheads 19:30
Great Continental Railway
Journeys
20:00 The Hairy Bikers’
Chicken and Egg Si and
Dave lift the lid on the origins story of one of the
world’s favourite fast foods
- Southern Fried Chicken.
21:00 Further Back In
Time for Dinner
The
Robshaws enter the 1940s
and experience a decade
overshadowed by war and
entirely fuelled by rations.
22:00 The Drug Trial:
Emergency
at
the
Hospital In 2006 six
healthy men took part in a
drug trial that went terribly
wrong, leaving them fighting for their lives. This documentary tells the story of
one of the most infamous
medical emergencies in
recent British history.
23:00 Inside No. 9 23:30
Newsnight 00:15 Special
Forces: Ultimate Hell Week
01:15
SAS:
Rogue
Warriors
02:15
Our
Dancing Town

07:00 Good Morning
Britain 09:30 Lorraine
10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30
This Morning 13:30 Loose
Women 14:30 News 15:00
Judge
Rinder
16:00
James Martin’s French
Adventure 17:00 Tipping
Point 18:00 The Chase
19:00 News
20:00 Emmerdale Robert
and Aaron face an uncertain future.
20:30 Britain’s Busiest
Motorway Documentary
series which goes behind
the scenes and on the
roads with the characters
who work on one of the
most famous and busiest
motorways in Britain, the
M25.
21:00 Tales from the
Coast
with
Robson
Green Robson Green visits the coastal landscape
of Essex and Suffolk, taking in the famous salt
marshes of the Blackwater
estuary, and Clacton-onSea where he reunites
Mods and Rockers.
22:00 Secret Life of
Dogs All dogs descend
from wolves, but how did
this predator become a
member of so many families? These examples
show how strong the bond
can be between a dog and
its human family.
23:00 News 23:40 Take
Me Out 00:40 Film - Carry
on Henry (PG) 02:15
Jackpot247

07:00 Countdown 07:45
The King of Queens 09:00
Everybody
Loves
Raymond 10:05 Frasier
11:05 Undercover Boss
USA 12:00 Ramsay’s
Kitchen Nightmares USA
13:00 News 13:05 A New
Life in the Sun 14:05 Find
It, Fix It, Flog It 15:10
Countdown 16:00 Fifteen
to One 17:00 A Place in the
Sun: Winter Sun 18:00
Come Dine with Me 19:00
The
Simpsons
19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00
News
21:00 UK’s Best Place to
Live Sarah Beeny reveals
the UK’s Best Place to
Live. With the help of a
detailed statistical analysis
of key factors, Sarah travels around the UK looking
for good affordable housing, best job prospects,
reasonable child care, and
quality of family life.

07:00 Milkshake 10:15
The Wright Stuff 12:15
GPs: Behind Closed Doors
13:10 5 News Lunchtime
13:15 The Nightmare
Neighbour Next Door
14:15 Home and Away
14:45 Neighbours 15:15
NCIS: Los Angeles 16:15
Film - The Nightmare
Nanny 18:00 News 18:30
Neighbours 19:00 Home
and Away 19:30 News
20:00
Winter
Road
Rescue Patrolman Simon
fights through a blizzard to
get to a lone woman who
has broken down on a
busy A road at night.
21:00 Inside Windsor
Castle Windsor was the
safe haven that kept
Princess Elizabeth and her
sister Margaret safe during
the war, and it is where
Elizabeth fell in love with
Prince Philip.

22:00 24 Hours in A&E
Pam, who’s 53, is rushed
to A&E after suffering a
suspected heart attack. As
doctors try to establish
whether it definitely was a
heart attack or another
underlying
condition,
Pam’s daughter Meg talks
about her bond with her
mum.

22:00 Secrets Of The
National Trust with Alan
Titchmarsh Alan visits
Attingham
Hall
in
Shropshire, one of the
Trust’s grandest properties. Jon Culshaw uncovers a lost WWII secret at
the former home of
Benjamin Disraeli.

Wednesday TV
07:00 Breakfast 10:15
Britain’s Home Truths
11:00 Homes Under the
Hammer 12:00 Wanted
Down Under Revisited
12:45
Oxford
Street
Revealed 13:15 Bargain
Hunt 14:00 News 14:45
Doctors 15:15 The Coroner
16:00 Escape to the
Country
16:45
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 17:30 Flog It!
18:15 Pointless 19:00
News 20:00 The One Show
21:00 Who Do You Think
You Are? Actor Sunetra
Sarker sets out to explore
the Bengali heritage she
ignored when she was
growing up in Liverpool.
Starting in Kolkata, India,
she learns of her greatgrandfather's courageous
activism in colonial Bengal,
and of a family connection
to Gandhi during the struggle for Indian independence.
22:00 The Real Marigold
Hotel The celebrities continue to settle into life in
their 16th-century mansion,
and are brought closer
together when they celebrate Amanda Barrie’s 81st
birthday together. Lionel
Blair - who has struggled
with a distended belly since
having treatment for cancer
- tries out a local alternative
medicine in the hope of
finding a solution to the
problem.
23:00 News 23:45 Peter
Kay’s Car Share 00:15 Film
2017 00:50 The Big
Painting Challenge 01:50
Weather for the Week
Ahead 01:55 News

07:00 My Life in Books
07:30 Wanted Down Under
Revisited
08:15
The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 09:00 The
World’s Most Extraordinary
Homes 10:00 Victoria
Derbyshire 12:00 Live
12:30 Daily Politics 14:00
Lifeline 14:10 Cash in the
Attic 14:35 Beat the Brain
15:05 Landward 15:35
Mountain 16:30 The Blue
Planet 17:20 A Place to
Call Home 18:15 Antiques
Road Trip 19:00 Eggheads
19:30 Great Continental
Railway Journeys
20:00 The Hairy Bikers’
Chicken and Egg Dave
and Si travel to Israel,
where they visit the 2500year-old remains of the
world’s first chicken farm,
as well as getting a glimpse
of the future for poultry.
They prepare a shakshuka
on a beach in Tel Aviv and
chicken shawarma kebabs
on the streets of Old
Jerusalem.

20:30 The BRIT Awards
2017 Dermot O’Leary and
Emma Willis co-host the
37th edition of the British
Phonographic Industry’s
annual pop music awards,
staged at London’s O2
and featuring performances by Robbie Williams,
Emeli Sandé, Little Mix,
Skepta, the 1975, Ed
Sheeran and Bruno Mars.
David Bowie receives two
posthumous nominations,
for British Male Solo Artist
and Album of the Year,
with
Leonard
Cohen
receiving his first-ever
nomination
in
the
International Male Solo
Artist
category,
also
posthumously.

21:00 The House That
£100k Built Kieran Long
follows self-builders as they
take on the biggest gamble
of their lives.

35

Friday 17th February 2017

07:00 Countdown 07:45
The King of Queens 09:00
Everybody
Loves
Raymond 10:05 Frasier
11:05 Undercover Boss
USA 12:00 Ramsay’s
Kitchen Nightmares USA
13:00 News 13:05 A New
Life in the Sun 14:05 Find
It, Fix It, Flog It 15:10
Countdown 16:00 Fifteen
to One 17:00 A Place in the
Sun: Winter Sun 18:00
Come Dine with Me 19:00
The
Simpsons
19:30
Hollyoaks 20:00 News
21:00 Location, Location,
Location Kirstie Allsopp
and Phil Spencer revisit
two couples who were previously featured on the
show. Sam and Krystle
were keen to move from
their rented flat in Deptford
into their own place, while
long-distance
partners
Jason and Jaye were looking for a one-bed pad with
outside space in Clapham
or Brixton to finally bring
them together.
22:00 The Royal House of
Windsor George V rescued the monarchy by
dumping their German
roots and rebranding the
family as quintessentially
British, until his wayward
son Edward VIII nearly
brought the dynasty crashing down with the abdication crisis.
23:20 Four Rooms with
Sarah Beeny 00:25 The
Billion Pound Hotel 01:25
Walking The Nile 02:20
The Secret Life of... 03:15
Film - Sorority Row (18)
04:55 Kirstie’s Handmade
Treasures

07:00 Milkshake 10:15
The Wright Stuff 12:15
GPs: Behind Closed Doors
13:10 News 13:15 The
Great British Benefits
Handout 14:15 Home and
Away 14:45 Neighbours
15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film - A
Killer Among Us 18:00
News 18:30 Neighbours
19:00 Home and Away
19:30 News
20:00 A New Life in Oz
The Boundy family leave
Cornwall for Australia’s
South West, where mum
Sasha wants to set up a
sanctuary for baby possums. After initial struggles
with accommodation and
accessing funds, could a
rental home meet their
needs?
21:00
GPs:
Behind
Closed Doors Dr Kwan
treats a teenage patient
who has decided to stop
taking the anti-psychotic
medication she has been
prescribed.
22:00
Climbing
the
Property Ladder First
time property developer
Cate and fiancée Nikki are
looking to boost their pension pot, and they carry out
a high risk strategy by
pouring all of Cate’s life
savings into a rundown
house. Meanwhile, Andrzej
dreams of building his own
property empire. Starting
with a small studio apartment he sets his sights on
£30,000 profit in just four
weeks.
23:00
Extraordinary
People 00:05 Film - Seven
Pounds
(14)
02:15
SuperCasino
04:10
Celebrity Carry On Barging

36
07:00 Breakfast 10:15
Britain’s Home Truths
11:00 Homes Under the
Hammer 12:00 Wanted
Down Under Revisited
12:45
Oxford
Street
Revealed 13:15 Bargain
Hunt 14:00 News 14:45
Doctors
15:15
The
Coroner 16:00 Escape to
the Country 16:45 The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown 17:30 Flog It!
18:15 Pointless 19:00
News 20:00 The One
Show
20:30 EastEnders Denise
is forced to deal with the
consequences of her
actions.
21:00 Shop Well for
Less? The One Show presenter Alex Jones and
business journalist Steph
McGovern take on a mission to help families
change the way they shop
without changing their
lifestyles. They begin in
Glasgow, where Colin and
Karen Rodger dream of
taking their three sets of
twins abroad for the first
time.
22:00 Death in Paradise
The Saint Marie mayoral
elections are thrown into
disarray when one of the
candidates is stabbed to
death in the polling booth
while casting his vote. Can
Irish
detective
Jack
Mooney and his team get
to the bottom of this political puzzle?
23:00
News
23:45
Question Time 00:45 This
Week 04:00 Weather for
the Week Ahead 04:05
News

Friday 17th February 2017

07:00 My Life in Books
07:30
Wanted
Down
Under Revisited 08:15 The
Farmers’
Country
Showdown
09:00 An
Island Parish 09:30 Great
British Railway Journeys
10:00 Victoria Derbyshire
12:00 News 13:00 Daily
Politics 14:00 Cash in the
Attic 14:25 Beat the Brain
14:55 Landward 15:25
Mountain 16:25 Africa
17:25 A Place to Call
Home 18:15 Antiques
Road Trip 19:00 Eggheads
19:30 Great Continental
Railway Journeys
20:00 The Hairy Bikers’
Chicken and Egg The
Bikers head to Bromsgrove
for some of the best jerk
chicken in Britain
21:00 The Great Pottery
Throw Down It is garden
week and judges Keith
Brymer Jones and Kate
Malone challenge the
seven remaining potters to
make stunning ceramics
for the great outdoors.
22:00 This World NHS
doctor Oscar Duke, who
himself has albinism,
embarks on a personal
journey. He uncovers the
discrimination and persecution of people who share
his condition in Tanzania
and Malawi in East Africa.
23:00 MOTD: The Premier
League
Show
23:30
Newsnight 00:15 The Drug
Trial: Emergency at the
Hospital 01:15 David
Bowie: The Last Five Years
02:45 Royal Recipes
03:30 This Is BBC TWO

07:00 Good Morning
Britain 09:30 Lorraine
10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30
This Morning 13:30 Loose
Women 14:30 News 15:00
Judge
Rinder
16:00
James Martin’s French
Adventure 17:00 Tipping
Point 18:00 The Chase
19:00 News
20:00 Emmerdale Aaron’s
day for sentencing arrives.
20:30 Tonight You might
think wolf whistles and cat
calls are a thing of the
past. But is sexual harassment on the streets and in
night clubs actually getting
worse? Many women say
it is. Tonight goes undercover to see if some men
really are behaving badly.
21:00 Emmerdale Debbie
considers risking it.
22:00 Mafia Women with
Trevor McDonald The
veteran broadcaster presents the second of two
programmes lifting the lid
on the riches, the pain and
the sense of betrayal that
life with a mobster can
bring - and this time his
journey brings him to a
series of secret locations
meeting mob wives who
are all hiding from the
Mafia
with
their
partners.They
include
Donna Mangiavillano, her
daughters Stefanie and
Victoria and husband
Salvatore, who once masterminded bank heists for
the mob.
23:00 News 23:40 UEFA
Europa League Football
00:40 Tipping Point 01:35
Jackpot247 04:00 Tonight
04:25 ITV Nightscreen

Thursday TV
07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The
Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs:
Behind Closed Doors
13:10 News 13:15 Benefits
14:15 Home and Away
14:45 Neighbours 15:15
NCIS 16:15 Film - Deadly
Paradise 18:00 News
18:30
Neighbours
19:00 Home and Away
19:30 News
20:00 Nightmare Tenants,
Slum Landlords Newbie
property developer Alex
calls in an eviction specialist after finding that he
could be arrested if he tries
to oust squatters from the
derelict pub he purchased.
Peterborough
Council
receive a complaint from a
family threatened with an
illegal eviction and violence
by a letting agent.

21:00 The Supervet A
puppy called Maya is
rushed to the surgery after
being hit by a car.
Professor Noel Fitzpatrick
has to embark on a series
of operations on Maya,
including a skin graft where
her leg is sewn into her 21:00 Bargain Loving
stomach.
Brits
in
the
Sun
Middlesbrough lad Michael
22:00
Has
Political has a dream of opening a
Correctness Gone Mad? new type of bar, power
Documentary in which couple Wayne and Des are
writer, broadcaster and for- about to throw a big party
mer
politician
Trevor to thank all of Benidorm’s
Phillips argues that liberal- show people for helping at
ism and fear of offending a recent fundraiser, and
minorities is stifling legiti- reinvented ex-criminal Rob
mate debate, and in his is struggling to keep his tatview led to Brexit and the too parlour afloat.
rise of populist leaders
such as Nigel Farage and 22:00 The Great British
Donald
Trump.Phillips Benefits
Handout
believes that Britain is in Lorraine gets her trading
danger of failing the so- licence and proceeds to set
called acid test of a democ- up her children’s clothing
racy.
stall, but will Romford’s discerning market-goers like
23:00 The Swingers 00:00 what they see?
24 Hours in A&E 01:05 The
Trouble with Dad 02:05 23:00 Celebrity Sex Pod
Jon Richardson: How to 00:05 The Nightmare
Survive the End of the Neighbour Next Door
World
03:00
Staying 01:00 SuperCasino 04:10
Healthy: A Doctor’s Guide Cruising
With
Jane
03:55 Dispatches
McDonald

Code Cracker is a crossword puzzle with no clues;
instead, every letter of the alphabet has been
replaced by a number, the same number representing
the same letter throughout the puzzle. All you have to
do is decide which letter is represented by which
number. In this week's puzzle, 9 represents X and 18
represents M, when these letters have been entered
throughout the puzzle, you should have enough
information to start guessing words and discovering
other letters.

DOUBLE CROSS-WORD
Solve the Double Cross-Word puzzle using either the
standard or cryptic clues, the answers are exactly the same.

CRYTPIC CLUES
Across
1/21 Undisputed astronomical fact still provokes an expression of
surprise (7,5)
5 Put up a tent in the
sports ground (5)
8 Dire note in a melancholy tune (5)
9 Birds migrating to
caves (7)
10 Get rid off unstable ale
in time (9)
12 Look both ways! (3)
13 Very angry about the
beer (6)
14 Dallies in old clubs (6)
17 Shut up! - It’s only a
joke (3)
18 Ones not in the group
ousted sir badly (9)
20 An article may carry a
little weight, but it’s literally confusing (7)
21 See 1
23 Look at manuscript, it
appears (5)
24 Be in 19 down, though
it’s an illegal bar (7)

Down
1 Beat about the bush, or
several (5)
2/7 Stewardess headed
for 1 across (3,7)
3 Before the tiny tot
became a recluse (7)
4 Gem cut with little science by a Middle
Easterner (6)
5 Sounds like experts
when it comes to writing
(5)
6 As a result, a word of
warning succeeds at that
point (9)
7 See 2
11 Put together a
chopped up giant tree (9)
13 Mendicants getting an
egg in licensed premises
(7)
15 One of the troops
who’s not not very forthcoming (7)
16 Impresses with blows
(6)
18 Monsters appearing in
Pilgrim’s Progress (5)
19 The lady has a measure of polish (5)
22 Point to an alternative
source of metal (3)

Quiz Word
Across
1 In which form of motorcycle racing do the riders race
four laps around an oval dirt track, typically in a stadium?
(8)
7/18 By what other name is iron pyrite also known? (5,4)
8 What name is normally given to a small airport or airfield? (9)
9 By what much shorter name is the Basque terrorist
group Euskadi ta Askatasuna usually known? (3)
10 Which hill in County Meath was the site in early times
of the residence of the high kings of Ireland? (4)
11 Which city is the capital of Iran? (6)
13/17D Which naval administrator is particularly remembered for his Diary that describes events such as the
Great Plague and the Fire of London? (6,5)
14 According to Daniel Defoe, what was the surname of
the character who was castaway on a remote island? (6)
17 Which volatile flammable mixture of hydrocarbons is
used mainly as a fuel in internal-combustion engines?
(6)
18 See 7
20 Which stinging winged insect collects nectar and
pollen, produces wax and honey, and lives in large communities? (3)
22 Which US folk rock singer/songwriter, who died of a
drug overdose in 1980, wrote Reason To Believe and If
I Were a Carpenter? (3,6)

23 The leaves of which low-growing aromatic plant of the
mint family are used as a culinary herb? (5)
24 To what did Ceylon change its name in 1972? (3,5)
Down
1 Which private eye was played on screen in the 1970s

by actor Richard Roundtree? (5)
2 The tympanic membrane is the medical name for
what? (7)
3 Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong is
the real name of which British-born singer-songwriter?
(4)
4 Ponta Delgada is the capital of which group of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Portugal? (6)
5 In Scandinavian mythology, who was the supreme god
and creator, the god of victory and the dead? (5)
6 By what surname was the ‘song and dance’ man who
was originally named Frederic Austerlitz, better known?
(7)
7 A prancing horse on a yellow shield is the emblem of
which motor manufacturer? (7)
12 What name is given to a person who makes a will?
(7)
13 What is the name given to the day of religious observance and abstinence from work? (7)
15 Which is the highest mountain in Wales? (7)
16 What was the surname of the writer who created the
sinister Chinese criminal genius Fu Manchu? (6)
17 See 13 Across
19 What was the title of 10CC’s first British top 10 hit single? (5)
21 Which British nobleman ranks above a viscount and
below a marquis? (4)

Spot the Difference

SUDOKU

people QUIZ
1. In Iraq, what are the 2 main Muslim sects?
2. In the famous Nintendo games, what is the name of
Mario's brother?
3. What is the US equivalent of the S.A.S.?
4. Who changed his name from Gordon Sumner to top
the charts?
5. Which comedian was born 'Maurice Cole'?
6. Who did Anthony Armstrong Jones marry in 1960?
7. What colour is a sari for a traditional Indian wedding?
8. Before Winston Churchill went bald, what colour was
his hair?
1. Sunni and Shiite 2. Luigi 3. Delta Force 4. Sting 5.
Kenny Everett 6. Princess Margaret 7. Red 8. Red/Ginger

CLASSIFIE
SITUATIONS VACANT
Solar Power - Sunlife Solar
Solutions have vacancies for
both a Solar Installation
Engineer and a Solar
Thermal
Engineer
(or
plumber with pool heating
experience). Call 965 271
717 or send your CV to
info@sunlifesolarsolutions.c
om
Insurance Sales - The
EasyCover Group have a full
time vacancy available in
their Torrevieja / La Zenia
offices. You must have
previous sales experience
and have lived locally for at
least 5 years. A full time
contract is offered to the right
candidate. Send your CV
and enquiries by email
to martin@easyoption.com
Kleeneze has now arrived in
Spain and we are seeking
Independent Distributors in
all areas. Contact Claire on
661
856
014
or
claire.twigg@hotmail.com
TELITEC are looking for a
qualified
internet
TV
installation expert, 40hr
week and full contract,
vehicle provided, experience
essential. Telephone 965
743 473.
Radio Sales - RADIO
COSTA MEDIA needs selfemployed salesperson for

Torrevieja & surrounding
areas. Call 685 901 265 or
please
email
info@radiocosta.eu
Got a vacancy? Advertise it
here, on TKO Radio,
Facebook and the internet
for just 20â&#x201A;Ź, call 966 921
003.
CHURCH SERVICES
Torrevieja
Christian
Fellowship at Avenida de las
Cortes Valencianas 68,
Torrevieja 03183, all welcome to their friendly and
lively 10.30 am. Service
each Sunday morning.
Tele: 966700391 or visit our
website
on
www.tcfspain.org.
International
Christian
Assembly, Calle Pilar de
Horadada 5, Torrevieja.
Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday services
11am.
Children's
church 11am.. For more
information lease Telephone
today: 966 799 273 or 660
127 276.
QUIZ MASTER
Experienced quiz-master
/question setter with personality. If you would like a quiz
master that is entertaining,
and is available to host quiz
nights in local bars. Tel: 664
838 581.

Highly self motivated, smartly presented,
enthusiastic sales person required for well
established and ever growing financial company. Previous sale experience, in any area, is
a must and Spanish speaking an advantage.
We are looking for excellent time keeping skills
and a desire to excel. Basic salary, commissions plus expenses paid. Please send CV to:
financeservices123456@gmail.com

42

Friday 17th February 2017

Technology

RICHARD CAVENDER

BlueMoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

BlueMoon Solutions is the computer and IT services
company on the Costa Blanca.
BlueMoon Solutions comes to you at home or at work. Their personal service covers from Alicante to Pilar de la Horadada.

Richard moved to Spain ten years ago having left
his management background behind in the UK and
decided to use his IT skills to help home users and
small businesses with their PC problems. Now a
relaxed 'computer man' he is out and about in the
Spanish sun every day, making house and shop
calls and using his vast experience and qualifications to sort out the problem there and then.
Computers are his hobby as well as his work so
don’t be surprised to get an answer to your email in
the early hours!

ADVICE: Michael was having problems with the text on his computer being small when he was using the Internet.

Q

Hi Richard, I have another problem/question for you. I was using the computer last night and for no reason the size of the text and pictures on the screen got smaller. The
page fills the whole screen as normal and everything works normal except it is all smaller, even the text I am printing here is not the normal size. When I open a web page
say for my bank whereas before there would be a scroll bar at the bottom of the page now the whole page is shown on the screen and so need for the bar. I assume/hope
that I have inadvertently pressed something by mistake and changed a setting and I have looked at some settings but cannot find one myself. Have you any ideas?

A

Hi Michael, yes I think that I know what you have done, you have either changed the “zoom” or the “text size” within your web browser. I am going to assume that you are
using Internet Explorer, let me know if you are not and I will send you the instructions for whatever you are using. I have seen quite a few people do this Michael, so you are
by no means alone, its easily done by mistake by accidentally holding down the CTRL key whilst using the mouse “wheel”, in order to check what you have done and to rectify
it, just go into Internet Explorer and click “View”, “Zoom” and select “100%” then go back into the “view” menu and select “text size” this time and click “medium”. If you don’t see the
menu bar then just press the ALT key once and it will appear for you.

Update: Hi Richard, thanks for your reply and possible solution. I went to `view ` and found that both 100% and medium were in fact already checked, however I clicked on `zoom in`
twice and it put the screen back to where it was, so that solved the problem. Isn`t technology wonderful, when you know what you are doing with it!!!. I had tried a few things but had
not thought of looking in `view’, I had concentrated on control panel. Still all’s well that ends well. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Regards, Michael

MAZDA NAMED MANUFACTURER OF THE
YEAR IN THE 2017 AM AWARDS
Automotive Management
Magazine
has
named
Mazda Manufacturer of the
Year.
Mazda took the title at
AM’s annual award ceremony in London last week.
2017 sees the launch of
the all-new Mazda MX-5 RF
and the all-new Mazda CX5.
Mazda has lifted the title
of Manufacturer of the Year
at the 2017 Automotive
Management Awards.
Following the fourth-generation MX-5's unprecedented clean sweep of victories
last year – taking the 2016
World Car of the Year, 2016
World Car Design of the
Year and 2016 UK Car of the
Year awards - it's clear that
Mazda's
driver-focused
approach to its current
model range is finding favour
with judging panels and the
general public alike.
In 2016 Mazda recorded
2.4 per cent year-on-year
sales growth with retail sales
increasing by 10 per cent in
a UK market where total
retail sales grew by just 2
per cent, while the launch
next month of the all-new

MX-5
RF
Retractable
Fastback will bolster the
Mazda range to seven models, including the Mazda2,

2017 Mazda3, Mazda6, and
both the CX-3 and CX-5
SUVs.
Mazda maintains a highly

focused automotive philosophy which links every model
in the company's new-generation line-up. Its standout

human-centred design and
engineering
ensuring
Mazda’s customers benefit
from elegant, refined and
efficient cars whichprioritisethe Jinba-ittai car-anddriver-as-one driving experience exemplified by the MX5.
Commenting
on
the
Mazda brand, Automotive
Management's panel of
judges said: “They're now a
brand of great cars, not just
the one. Attractive, reliable
and great to drive, if you
weren't familiar with the
brand, or it was hidden from
you, you'd think you were
driving one of the premium
brands”. Collecting the
award Peter Allibon, Sales
Director of Mazda UK said,
“We are absolutely delighted
to have our unique approach
to automotive design and
engineering
recognised
through the winning of such
a prestigious award.' And
Jeremy Thomson, Managing
Director Mazda UK added
“everything we do at Mazda
is dedicated to making
things better for our customers and our range of stylish, spirited and great to
drive cars continues to win
praise from media and our
customers alike.”

44

Sport

Friday 17th February 2017

Pelley Goes For It
The European Tour
has announced a sixhole
team
event
called GolfSixes, in
its attempts to "modernise" and "broaden
the appeal" of the
sport.
Two-man teams from
16 different nations will
compete at St Albans'
Centurion Club during
the first weekend of May
for a prize fund of one million euros. There will be
amphitheatre-style stands
around the tees plus music
and pyrotechnics. Players
will wear microphones and be
encouraged to interact with
fans.
Tour chief executive Keith
Pelley said the Tour was keen to
"emulate" the Ryder Cup atmosphere.
"We have said for some time that
golf needs to modernise and introducing innovative new formats is a
major part of achieving that," he
said.
"We want to broaden the appeal
of our sport to the millennial demographic and I think this format will
do that."
The teams will be split into four
groups of four teams on day one,
with the top two from each group
progressing to the knockout

Local Hero

Murcia-based
cyclist,
Alejandro Valverde from the
Movistar team, won his
home race for a fifth time, by
being first over the line in
Saturday's Vuelta Ciclista a
la Region de Murcia, thanks
to an aggressive solo attack
some 70km from the finish in
Murcia City.
The one-day event started
in San Javier, and he
reached Murcia City with a
two-minute lead and so was
able to celebrate his solo victory in front of his local
crowd.
"It's always special for me

to win on home roads – this
victory goes to all the people
in this region, who always
cheer for me so much when
I'm racing abroad. It truly is
the most beautiful of the five
I've achieved here; it was a
big effort and so tough to
keep up against the wind
and the climbs to win here,”
Valverde said.
Jhonatan
Restrepo
(Katusha-Alpecin)
beat
Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) to win the sprint for
second place, some two
minutes and ten seconds
behind Valverde.

stages.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals
and final - and a play-off for third
place - will be contested on day
two.
Matches will be played in a
greensomes, match-play format,
with both players in a team hitting
tee shots on each hole. After
selecting the best tee shot, the
players take alternate shots until
the hole is completed.
One point is awarded for each
hole won, with the winner being
the team with the most points after
six holes.
Countries will be represented by
their leading ranked and available
European Tour member as of
March 13th, who will then choose a
team-mate.
Keith Pelley, is confident that
backers will be drawn to the new
quick-fire style which unashamedly aims to reach out a younger
audience put off by golf’s staid and
pedestrian image.
“We wanted to experiment with a
completely new format then go
into the market and test that”, Pelly
said. “We are delighted to bring a
country versus country element to
the fore. There is no question that
the greatest atmosphere in golf
comes at the Ryder Cup and we
are keen to emulate that national
fervour. This is created for a
younger audience. It is for people

Lots Of
Stamina

Ultra-runners descended
on Los Alcázares on
Sunday morning to go
around a 100 kilometre
course either in team relays,
with 26 teams taking part, or
in an individual challenge,
which saw 25-year-old Iván
Penalba win in a time of just
over seven hours and 43

minutes.
The Runtritón Cartagena
team took both the male
and female categories, with
the Rajaos Runners taking
the mixed category title. The
race route was essentially
20 laps of five thousand
metres aorund the Los
Narejos promenade.

who haven't necessarily experienced our game as much. We want
to get them engaged.”
There is a growing feeling in golf
that although it is vital to keep 72hole, four-day strokeplay as the
bedrock of the sport, the format is
not entertaining enough for the
wider market. “We have to continually look to modernise,” Pelley
said.
"There will always be a 72-hole
tournament, there will always be
18-hole strokeplay, that is the pinnacle of our game. But I do believe
it is going to be difficult to sustain
72-hole tournaments with more
than 120 players on a weekly
basis. The majors will continue to
grow,
the
World
Golf
Championships will grow and then
there will be new formats that can
be adapted by different promoters
and countries to generate excitement. We are looking at making
modern changes to adapt to the
changing habits of consumers. If
you move ahead five years from
now, I can't see that players won't
all be wearing microphones. Sport
is moving that way, people want to
hear from the stars."
" We are in the entertainment
content business with golf as our
platform and GolfSixes could do
for golf what Twenty/Twenty has
done for cricket. could become big
down the line,” commented Pelley.

A Sunday
Stroll

Mohamed Boucetta, a visitor from the northern part of
the Valencia region, who
races for the Playas de
Castellón Athletic Club, was
triumphant in last Sunday's
Orihuela Half Marathon
race.
Boucetta roasted the field
with a time of one hour, nine
minutes, and 49 seconds to
win the event by two and a
quarter minutes!

Wafilla Berali from the
Nogalte Puerto Lumbreras
Athletic Club, across the
border in Murcia, took the
women's race in just under
one hour and 18 minutes.
Around fifteen-hundreds
are said to have part in the
event on a new route that
concentrated on Orihuela
City itself, as opposed to taking in some of the adjoining
villages.

Awards Night
San Javier’s annual sports gala awards presentation was
held on Saturday at the Faculty of Science in Santiago de la
Ribera. Climber Miguel Madrid and Dragon Boat sailor, Maite
Fernández, were named as the muncipality’s male and
female athletes of the year.

Sport

45

Friday 17th February 2017

Time To Panic
NOVELDA CF 1 CD TORREVIEJA 0

Start And Finish
CD THADER 1 BENFERRI CF 1

A simple tap-in from two
yards out with just over ten
minutes to play, provided
Novelda with all three
points and moved them
into fifth place in the table,
edging closer to promotion
play off football. For
Torrevieja on Sunday, it
kept them in 20th place,
now seven points adrift of
safety with relegation exercising that index finger in a
come hither communication,
especially
as
Almoradi have started to
put a run together.
Two new signings started the match, with three
more introduced after the
team had conceded the
only goal of the game.
Torry played fairly well, but
cannot get away from the
fact that goal scoring is
their weakness. Teams
cannot
win
matches
unless they score, and
Torry find that part of the
game very, very difficult.
There is no shortage of
effort. Lewis Allen, playing
his first match since before
Christmas, worked tire-

lessly in midfield, despite
that not being his favoured
position.
Luis
Carlos
defended resolutely and
joined in attacks with
gusto. Debutants Walid
and new captain Javi
Meca made favourable
first impressions, but once
more Torry drew a blank,
the root cause of their
problems.
This malaise is division
three threatening and
unless at least eight wins
are secured in the final 14
games, Torrevieja will be
playing lower league football come September. With
four wins from 26 games
and a haul of only 25 goals
scored, they know only too
well what the problem is.
Fixing it though is proving
elusive, with the squad
having used more than
forty players already this
season. One of those was
Zapata, who made a very
good impression at the
start of the term with Torry,
but who was released to
join a 2B outfit. He is now
with Novelda and led their

line with pace and purpose. And yes, it was the
former Torry striker who
popped up close to goal to
tap in the winner in the
78th minute.
It is high flyers Ontinyent
who visit the Nelson
Mandela this Sunday
when the game kicks off at
11.45am, to allow fans to
enjoy
the
Torrevieja
Carnival parade later in the
day. Ontinyent come on
the back of a hard fought
win over Alzira, another
promotion candidate, and
have already defeated
Torry this term. Holding
tight onto that 4th play off
place and with Novelda
breathing down their neck,
they will want to take maximum points home from
this encounter with a relegation threatened opponent.
The odds are stacked
against Torrevieja, and
with new signings and
more training, winning just
has to start this Sunday
morning, or else the
Preferente beckons.

A goal right at the beginning, and an injury-time
equaliser bookmarked this
match in Rojales last
Sunday lunchtime. It was a
second successive home
draw in a matter of days for
Thader, which slightly take
the wind out of their promotion sails. Having said that,
they stay fourth in the
Preferente group four table,
and are just three points

behind second and thirdplaced Hercules and La
Nucia who convieniently
failed to win last weekend.
In truth, it was a very good
result for Benferri who were
ravaged by injuries and suspensions, but it looked like a
difficult lunchtime would be
in store for them as captain
Lloyd Dummett (pictured
second from right before the
kick-off) put Thader ahead in

the first minute. Benferri
stood firm though, and more
goals anticipated by the
home fans didn’t come.
The second half didn’t
produce many chances for
either side, and Benferri
grabbed a point for all their
brave efforts right at the
death from Leandro. Thader
now go this Sunday to sixthplaced Elda Industrial for a
tough looking clash.

Getting Tougher
CD ALMORADI 0 CREVIELLENTE 0
Almoradi made it three
matches unbeaten in their
recent surge to avoid the
drop from the Valencian
regional third division, but
the problem is that may all
be coming a bit too late, as
you look at results elsewhere. Sunday’s local clash
was entertaining despite the
fact there were no goals,
with Almoradi dominating in
the first half looking for a
third straight win, and their
best chance came from
Manu, which keeper Oscar
saved.
Crevillente came into it
more, but Almoradi saw a
good chance going abegging in the second half, as
substitute David saw Oscar
keep his shot out, whilst at

the other end Crevillente
had a good shout for a
penalty turned down in the
80th minute as keeper
Sergio Moya brought down
striker Jaime Jornet, but referee Navarro Paterna gave
nothing.
Last weekend CD Bunol,
who are 17ths in the table,
thrashed the hapless outfit
of bottom-side Segorbe 5-2
at the weekend, and they
occupy the space above the
relegation zone, with a five
point cushion over 18thplaced Almoradi, and they
have a game in hand.
This weekend
both
Almoradi and Torrevieja will
be left in two minds over
what they want to see happen in Bunol’s match at 19th

placed
Muro,
whilst
Almoradi will fancy their
chances in getting something from their trip to 16thplaced Paterna.
Crevillente are now 11
points off promotion contention, and they have what
amounts to a “must-win”
encounter at home to
Villarreal this weekend.
Orihuela, who are two points
better off than Crevillente,
travel to Recambios Colon,
on the back of a disappointing one-all home draw with
Alamazora.
10th placed
Elche Ilicitano equipped
themselves well in their onenil defeat at high-flying leaders Olimpic, and they entertain Rayo Ibense this weekend.

46

Friday 17th February 2017

A Real Fight

Sport

Six Of The Best Elche’s Late Agony

OSASUNA 1 REAL MADRID 3
La Liga leaders Real were made to work hard fight for victory
as they overcame bottom club, Osasuna at El Sadar on
Saturday evening.
An early injury to Tano Bonnin - later confirmed to be a double
leg-break - threatened to affect the early promise shown by the
hosts, and they went behind from Real's first attack, as
Cristiano Ronaldo buried Karim Benzema's through ball in the
24th minute.
But eight minutes later, former Elche favourite, ergio Leon
latched onto a ball out from midfield and chipped an equaliser
over the top of Keylor Navas. Isco finally made the crucial
breakthrough in the 62nd minute, before Lucas Vasquez sealed
the win in injury time.
Real are one point clear of Barcelona at the top of the table
with two games in hand, and now entertain mid-table Espanyol
tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) with a 4.15 pm kick-off.

Real Fight Back

REAL MADRID 3 NAPOLI 1
Real Madrid came from a goal down to beat Napoli in the first
leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
The visitors took the lead after Keylor Navas was caught off
guard by a superb Lorenzo Insigne strike inside eight minutes.
Karim Benzema headed the equaliser past Pepe Reina from
Dani Carvajal's cross 11 minutes later.
Toni Kroos (pictured) put the hosts ahead early in the second
half, before a stunning volley from Casemiro sealed the win.
Napoli will host the second leg on Tuesday March 7th, with a
place in the quarter-finals at stake.

ELCHE 1 UCAM MURCIA 1

ALAVES 0 BARCELONA 6
A broken ankle suffered by Barca’s Aleix Vidal that keeps
him out for the rest of the season, soured an otherwise perfect afternoon for Barcelona as four goals in eight secondhalf minutes helped them to thrash Alaves, who they will
meet in May’s Copa del Rey final.
Neutrals and Alaves fans will be hoping for something
closer in a few months time, but the home side looked
organised in the opening half hour, before they went behind
eight minutes before the break when Luis Suarez - banned
for the final - slotted in Vidal's cross.
Los Cules added to their tally just three minutes later,
when Fernando Pacheco's mistake gifted Neymar the second. Lionel Messi robbed Carlos Vigaray and slammed
home from a tight angle (49). Alexis turned the ball into his
net under pressure from the Argentine to make it four (63),
before a goal from Ivan Rakitic (65) and a second from
Suarez minutes later completed the rout (67).
Vidal though was stretchered off inside the final 10 minutes after feeling the effects of a robust challenge from Theo
Hernandez. Barca are at home to struggling Leganes this
Sunday evening.

Back in Business

Parisienne
Nightmare
CF PLAYAS ORIHUELA 0
CD MONTESINOS 3

Testing Row

PARIS ST-G 4 BARCELONA 0
World anti-doping officials say that there have been no drug
tests carried out in Spanish football for almost a year. The World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) admits it finds the situation in La
Liga and the whole of Spanish sport "alarming" after Spain's
anti-doping programme was deemed not up to international
standards.
The National Anti-Doping Organisation of Spain (AEPSAD)
was declared "non-compliant" last March and its WADA-accredited laboratory in Madrid was shut down. Since then it has been
on individual sports to organise a drug testing system but WADA
insists football has not followed suit.
In addition, WADA claims no drug testing has taken place at
any Champions League, Europa League or World Cup
Qualifiers in Spain since March after FIFA and UEFA refused to
take control of the situation.
AEPSAD insist WADA's figures are not correct, saying that
"57 football players from the first division have undergone tests"
since the start of the season.

Elche literally paid the penalty for a string of missed second
half chances against UCAM Murcia, when the visitors were
awarded a controversial spot-kick when Ilicitanos defender
Armando was adjudged to have grabbed Jona, who then scored
the penalty three minutes into added time.
Elche took the lead in the seventh minute when Tekio fouled
Guillermo in the box, and Nino stepped up to get his eighth goal
of the season. UCAM though had more of the play in the first
half, but not more clear scoring chances were created by the visitors.
The Ilicitanos were far more positive in the second half especially when Pelayo came on for Guillermo on the hour mark.
Pelayo and Hervías missed great chances to double Elche’s
advantages as UCAM were on the back foot, and Nino squandered a sitter in the last ten minutes after being set up a great
pass from substitute Liberto, which he hit high, wide, and very
unhandsome. The visitors then got their late penalty, and Elche
saw two points go down the drain, and they worryingly now find
themselves just four points above the relegation zone.
The Ilicitanos, in 13th place, now travel to Lugo this evening
for an 8.00 pm kick-off, with the home side in contention for a
play-off slot.

Angel di Maria scored twice as Paris St-Germain stunned
Barcelona to leave the La Liga champions needing to climb a
giant mountain if they are to avoid missing out on the
Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in a decade.
PSG dominated this last-16 first-leg tie throughout on
Tuesday and took the lead through Di Maria's curled free-kick.
Julian Draxler added a second with an angled drive before Di
Maria curled an effort into the top corner. Edinson Cavani then
sealed a famous win with a powerful fourth.
A lacklustre Barcelona - with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and
Neymar largely anonymous - did not produce an effort of note
until seven minutes before the end when Samuel Umtiti headed
on to the post.
The defeat leaves Luis Enrique's side with an almighty task to
stay in the competition when they host PSG in the return leg on
March 8th.
No side has managed to overturn a four-goal first-leg deficit in
the Champions League.

After two draws in their last two Segunda Regional Group 16
matches, both against the division´s top two sides, Montesinos
controlled this match against one of the teams just below the
chasing group, who have always been regarded as a bogey side
in recent seasons.
The clash, played in Torrevieja, saw Monte score in the 22nd
minute when forward Carlos Ventura ran onto a back header and
smashed a low shot into the bottom of the net. The same player
could have added a second followed by good chances for
German and Carlos Lorente. The second goal did come just
before the interval, with a fine goal from a set piece. A corner on
the left taken by German was met at the near post by defender
Manu and his bullet-like header gave the keeper no chance.
The second half saw Playas almost immediately put the ball
back into the net, but the anger of the home contingent, it was
ruled offside. That was their best chance to get back into the
contest, as Montesinos looked fitter and stronger, though it wasn’t until the 80th minute that they added their third goal. Again it
came from a set play which was headed home by another
defender, this time Joao stooping low to score.
It was a much better performance than of late for Montesinos,
which keeps them fourth in the table on 26 points, some three
points behind leaders Benijofar, plus a game in hand. This
Sunday, Monte entertain FB Redovan “B” with a 4.30 pm kickoff.

47

Friday 17th February 2017

Bale’s Back

Gareth Bale has returned to training at Real Madrid as he
closes in on a return to action following an ankle injury.
Bale has been out of action since undergoing surgery on an
ankle tendon problem in November, but Real Madrid tweeted a
photograph of the 27-year-old training with his team-mates at
their headquarters last Sunday.
Real manager manager Zinedine Zidane said that he hoped
the Welshman can return in time for Real's Champions League
last-16 second leg against Napoli on Tuesday March 7th.
Without Bale, Madrid have maintained their position at the top
of the La Liga table, despite intense pressure from Barcelona.

Copa Farewell

The final match to ever be staged at Atletico Madrid's Vicente
Calderon home will be the 2017 Copa del Rey final between
Barcelona and Alaves. Much confusion surrounded which venue
would host the showpiece clash, as San Mames - the home of
Athletic Bilbao - was ruled out of the running due to a Guns N’
Roses concert taking place there on the same day.
The Bernabeu will also be undergoing building work, so the
Vicente Calderon has now been given the green light to stage
the showdown between Barca and Alaves on Friday May 26th.
Both teams were keen on a neutral venue, meaning that the
Camp Nou was never seriously considered, with the Estadio de
La Cartuja and the Benito Villamarin overlooked in favour of
Atletico's home. Atletico will move to the recently-named Wanda
Metropolitano, boasting a capacity of 70,000, in time for the
2017-18 season.

Antoine’s
Happy

Antoine Griezmann is enjoying life at Atletico
Madrid but will "see what the future brings" as speculation over a move to Manchester United continues.
The 25-year-old is said to be Jose Mourinho's main
priority this summer, and earlier this month, United
denied reports that a deal had been reached in principle with Griezmann, whose buyout clause increased
to 100 million euros when extending his deal with
Atletico until 2021.
The France international insists he is happy in
Madrid - and even spoke of his excitement about
Atletico's new stadium - but did not close the door on
a summer departure.
"I feel great at the club and in Madrid," Griezmann
told FIFA.com.
"On a personal level I'm very happy, and in football
terms we're about to move to a new stadium, which is
very important.
"We'll just have to see what the future brings, but
for now I'm very happy here and I hope to win trophies
with this club."

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has confirmed that the La
Liga champions are considering signing a new right-back
after Aleix Vidal sustained a season-ending injury at Alaves
on Saturday (see over on page 46).
The former Sevilla wing-back has been serving as a Sergi
Roberto back-up in recent games but will be out of action for
about five months. Despite the closing of the transfer window, La Liga allows for a replacement if a player is ruled out
for more than five months due to sickness or injury.
Any signing has to be from La Liga or a free agent and will
be only able to play for Barcelona in domestic competitions,
ruling them out of the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly told Real Madrid
not to sell Karim Benzema this summer, with
Benzema enduring a difficult season at the club so
far.
The France international hasn't scored in the league
since October but did find the net in their 3-1
Champions League win over Napoli on Wednesday.
His inconsistent form has seen Real backed to move
for the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio
Aguero and Paulo Dybala.
However, the website Diario Gol claims that
Ronaldo has ordered the club not to sign a striker this
summer. Reports suggested last week that Ronaldo
also ordered Real not to sign Aubameyang, who has
also been linked with Liverpool. And it appears his
influence is so powerful he is determined to keep
Benzema at the Bernabeu.
He is happy playing alongside the Frenchman with
the duo having been team-mates since 2009. Ronaldo,
who is enduring a mixed campaign by his usual high
standards, believes Benzema is the key to him rediscovering his top form, with coach Zinedine Zidane
also wanting to keep him at the club.
But Madrid president Florentino Perez thinks differently and is willing to cut his losses on the former
Lyon striker at the end of the season.

Information correct at time of publication but subject to change at short notice.

Sport

CALLING
TIME

TWO MINNOWS
LEFT

A decision on the future of Arsenal
manager Arsene Wenger will be made
at the end of the season.
Despite Wednesday's Champions
League last-16 first leg thrashing at
Bayern Munich, there is currently no
prospect of Wenger leaving before the
summer.
The 67-year-old has already been
offered a new contract and it remains
on the table.
It is expected the decision for him to
stay or leave will be mutual between the
Frenchman and the club.
Wenger has been in charge of
Arsenal since 1996 but his current deal
with the Premier League club expires at
the end of the season.

ALLISON
RETURNS

Former Ferrari technical director
James Allison has joined F1 rivals
Mercedes. Allison, 48, who left Ferrari
in July, replaces Paddy Lowe as technical director at the reigning world champions.
Allison had two spells at Ferrari working as chief aerodynamicist during the Michael Schumacher era of
2000-04. He will report to Mercedes
team boss Toto Wolff.

It’s a massive weekend for fans of non-league Lincoln City and Sutton United, as they hold their heads high and go
into the FA Cup fifth round. With a “nothing to lose” frame of mind, both must fancy their chances, writes ALEX TRELINSKI.
In another sign of the TV times, only three of the eight ties are played in the traditional Saturday afternoon slot, and
we have the best saved until last as BBC 1 viewers on Monday night can enjoy Sutton taking on sorry Arsenal. There’s
a panic at the Emirates Stadium, with the Champions League now a dead duck and questions over Wenger’s future as
boss (see left). Sutton wanted this tie when the draw was made, and you’ve honestly got to say that they’ll be disappointed to at least not get a replay out of this, and yet another big pay day.
Lincoln City dumped Brighton in the last round (pictured celebrating), and the Imps have not been given the kindest
of draws with a visit to Lancashire to take on Burnley in tomorrow’s early-kick off at 1.30 pm (live on BT Sport). We saw
them get a battling draw at Ipswich in the third round, and there is no way that Sean Dyche’s side will underestimate
their opponents. I always loved going to Turf Moor to cover matches with the Coronation Street-style vision of terraced
houses in the background framed by the hills, and they are so passionate about their soccer in Burnley. Remember
that the Clarets are chasing their first major trophy in 57 years, and will be a tough nut to crack, but Lincoln are made
of stern stuff, and are more than capable of getting them back to Sincil Bank.
Leicester City, after losing in the league at Swansea, have a tough task at Millwall at 4.00 pm, and think this one out:they could be meeting in the Championship next season. Championship promotion contenders Huddersfield entertain
Manchester City, with no quarter set to be given by Pep Guardiola’s side, with Guardiola treating the FA Cup as very
serious business…good on him! Middlesbrough against Newcastle’s conquerors Oxford, is the other regular-time fixture. Later on at 6.30 pm(live on BT Sport), I just can’t see Chelsea slipping up at Wolves, but who knows?
Sunday’s two ties have Spurs popping over to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham (live on BBC 1, 3.00 pm), and
Manchester United making the short journey to Ewood Park to take on Championship relegation contenders Blackburn
Rovers (live on BT Sport, 5.15pm).
Join me on TKO FM 91.9 for my sport and music show this Saturday from 3.00 pm as I bring you the latest scores
from the FA Cup and from everything else that’s going on, including Real Madrid’s match in La Liga.